CustomScoop's PR Blog Jots

CustomScoop's PR PodJots

After a hiatus of the Thanksgiving holiday CustomScoop’s PR PodJots is back, with all the latest from the PR and marketing podosphere.

It’s another busy this week as podcasters return from the holiday break bursting with ideas. Lots of discussion of the controversial Facebook Beacon program this week, and much more. In our first featured discussion this week, Bryan Person gives the scoop on the social media and podcasting to Luke Armour.

Onto the Jots!

The Rundown – The Rundown with Bryan Person

Luke Armour interviews Bryan Person, more commonly known throughout the PR blogosphere as @Bryper, host of the New Comm Road podcast. Luke makes his usual poor hilarious jokes, and chats up Bryan about the basics of podcasting, which tools he uses, and how a “non-tech-geek” can get started in podcasting. They also touch on the social media breakfast, and the importance of “real life” connections with our online contacts. Luke points out that all the “real life” interaction at events like the breakfasts seems to be going against the point of online interaction.

As Jeff Pulver also recently noted, we need face to face interaction more than ever as we move more of our personalities and lives into the virtual realm. To this end, the Boston area offers near-endless opportunities to make face to face connections with the people you get to know online. I try to make it to as many as possible, and can’t even keep up at times—it seems there is a new event on a weekly basis. If you haven’t yet had the chance to reach out to online contacts in person, I can’t stress enough how valuable it is to your brand.

For Immediate Release – Facebook Beacon in the Spotlight

Our friends at For Immediate Release have published no less than four new episodes since the last time the PodJots went live. Phew! You can check out information on those shows here, here, and here, but I wanted to focus on the November 29 show, as Shel (flying solo without Neville) discusses the biggest topic of the week: Facebook Beacon. This controversial ad system tracked user activity on non-Facebook retailer sites, and published those activities in their newsfeeds causing an uproar, from an online petition to myriad angry blog posts (including a Valleywag assertion that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was the new Grinch, spoiling Christmases left and right).

As it turned out, my Media Monitoring Minute this week sounded a bit out of date, as I complained about the privacy concerns involved in the program. Since then, Facebook has significantly dialed back the intrusion of Beacon, switching it to an opt-in program that is more in the control of the user. Shel gives a rundown of the stories coming from the blogosphere this week, pointing out that if the Beacon is reversed, it may cause a bit of trouble in justifying that hefty pricetag associated with Facebook after the $15 billion dollar investment from Microsoft.

Also discussed:

• CustomScoop’s Media Bullseye
• WordPress for Dummies
• Google’s Intranet
• Report from Dan York

Around the PR Podcast Horn (in Alphabetical Order):

Inside PR – On this week’s episode, Terry and David perform a “then and now” retrospective on PR agencies. They discuss how social media will fit into the firm “of the future,” mentioning the recent discussions taking place over whether to segregate a social media practice within a firm, or if all PR practitioners should be integrating it into their client work.

Managing the Gray – In his new episode this week, CC Chapman begins by commenting on the large number of comments his previous episode inspired, and his appreciation for the passion of the listeners. He also gives an overviews of the recent kerfuffle over the Facebook Beacon.

Marketing Martini – I can honestly say I had not heard of a “pop-under” ad until I listened to the latest Marketing Martini. Bill Sweetman interviews Alex Gardner of Casale Media about this controversial form of advertising, which has proven to me you learn something new every day. You’ve never heard of them either, you say? Well click here and check it out!

Marketing Over Coffee – This week, Chris and John spend some time discussing the “evil” manipulations of Wikipedia by PR flacks and corporate interests, and other uses for the site. They point out that if you’re not on Wikipedia, creating a page is the best way to control what goes on there about your brand. They also offer 12 useful tips for marketing your non-profit organization.

On the Record with Marianne Allison – This week “On the Record,” Eric Schwarzman interviews Waggener Edstrom executive VP and Chief Innovation Officer Marianne Allison. They discuss what’s involved in encouraging clients to participate in the latest innovations in communications, and ways to evangelize widespread adoption.

PRobecast – It’s a double-podcast week for Topaz Partners! In their November 16 episode, Doug Haslam, Sandy Kalik and Susan Koutalakis discuss their usual mishmash of topics this week, including discussions on Mobile Internet World, the Wall Street Journal deciding to allow stories to be Dugg, and the ins and outs of end-of-year pitches. In the latest episode from November 30, Doug, Todd Van Hoosear and Ron Capra cover the PR snafu from a member of Sen. Chris Dodd’s staff, as well as the Guide To Viral Videos published recently on TechCrunch.

Six Pixels of Separation – Many companies have jumped into blogging (with varying levels of success). This week, Mitch Joel interviews Debbie Weil, author of The Corporate Blogging Book, about—what else?—corporate blogs, and how far they have come in a relatively short period of time.

Trafcom News Podcast – Sound check! Donna Papcosta uses several different recording devices—phone, skype, built in MacBook mic, fancy-pants mic—to record her latest Trafcom News podcast, in order to give her audience a feel for the different types of audio equipment out there and what kind of sound they can expect from each.

Facebook Beacon Takes it Down a Notch (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Facebook Dialing Back the Beacon
Groundswell
I covered much of the uproar surrounding the controversial Facebook Beacon program earlier this week, and it seems that Facebook is realizing the errors of their ways. Charlene Li reports that Facebook has announced that no more stories about user purchases on Beacon’s partner sites (many of whom are now extremely wary of losing business due to the complaints of privacy advocates) will be published to Facebook news feeds without the user’s expressed consent. Charlene wonders if this entire ruckus will end up seriously affecting social media marketing. “The greater impact will be on nervous partners, some of whom -- like Overstock -- have withdrawn their Beacon participation. Most have taken a wait-and-see approach, weighing the benefits of exposure to their customers' friends network against possible push-back from privacy advocates. My concern is that this mistrust of Beacon spills over and dampens the already nascent beginnings of social media marketing.”

Am I the Only One Who Thinks Meatball Sundaes Sound Kind of Good?
PR 2.0
Seth Godin recently announced that his latest book about new media marketing will be called “Meatball Sundae,” the title meaning that mixing two separately delicious ideas can cause you to end up with something pretty awful. Following that, Greg Jarboe launched an argument claiming that the Social Media Press Release qualifies as a meatball sundae, mixing traditional PR with new media “toppings,” noting that social networkers on sites like Digg always bury SMRs anyway—so what’s the point? Brian Solis responds with an extensive post in defense of the SMR, which he argues is definitely not a meatball sundae. “The Social Media Release is nimble, scalable, and customizable. It can be written for journalists, bloggers, and/or for customers, and is simply rooted in the social tools and channels that help socialize the content for discovery, interpretation, and sharing. It's something that combines the best of traditional, new and social media and helps package a story in a way that works for different writers and users.”

Where Outsourcing Could Do Some Good
PR Blogger
By now we are all aware that much of the lower-level jobs in the U.S. (customer service positions in call centers, for example) are being outsourced to India, where labor is far less expensive. This is generally viewed as a negative, but what if we outsourced newspaper readership? Circulation rates in this country have been dropping steadily in recent years, as many Americans are turning to the web and other sources for their news. Newspaper readership in India, with a huge literate population, is rising, and Stephen Davies wonders if this could be a solution to dropping revenues in the Western world. “I guess that’s why newspaper pioneers like the Guardian are becoming more global in their outlook. Which reminds me, I read an blog post today saying that the Guardian has surpassed the New York Times in terms of traffic. Can’t remember whose blog I read it from now though.”

10 Social Media Myths -- Busted! (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Social Media Mythbusting
Ignite Social Media
In a post receiving a lot of love from my online Twitter community today, Lisa McNeill shares the top ten biggest myths about social media. Among the myths, the idea that campaigns in social media are “free,” and that participating in social media isn’t really “work.” (I can testify that it is!) My favorite however, is one of the more intensely discussed issues facing social media professionals in communications: how do we measure the ROI? Can way? Yes, says Lisa. “While this is topic is still a debate among the social media community and marketers - this is undebatable to me. If anything - social media has shown huge ROI through increased search engine optimization alone - for Ignite this has resulted in higher organic search results. What has this translated to? A quantifiable number of new business leads, in addition to brand positioning that lets us into the conversations of our target audience.”

Preach It
Communications Overtones
Pulling one over on the public in order to further a clients’ agenda or message, commonly known as astroturfing, is a much-maligned practice, particularly in the social media realm. Taking this route may be incredibly tempting to communications professionals, however, and Kami Huyse points out that it might be the human condition to give in to such temptation. She lays out some basic ethical guidelines she created as part of an anti-astroturfing campaign last year, but wonders if such rules of engagement will only help in “preaching to the choir,” and if those inclined towards unethical practices will never take the advice to heart. “What amazes me is the creative energy that gets wasted putting together "black arts" campaigns that could go toward building a better product and relationship with customers.  It is an age-old concept called brand loyalty, and it comes from investing in the relationship - not pulling the cap down over the eyes of the customer.”

Target No Target
Hyku
Everyone recalls, speaking of astroturfing, the general uproar surrounding the exposure of Wal-Mart’s fake blog earlier this year. So why then, Josh Hallet wonders, isn’t popular retailer Target taking the same amount of grief for their own shady campaign? It turns out the store asked participants in its online Rounders program to keep their affiliation with Target a secret from the store’s Facebook community. I’m thinking no one minds because Target is far “cooler” than the “evil” Wal-Mart, and also because the offense is far less egregious. “In short, Target instructed their Rounders to keep their relationship with Target a secret. When one of her students questioned this on Target's Facebook wall the thread was removed. Was there a mass outcry over this? Not really. A front page article on the New York Times? Nope. Why? A double standard? What do you think?”

PR Blogs vs Facebook: PR Blog Jots Special Edition

Getting It without Getting It
PR Squared
After including Geoff Livingston’s take on the Facebook Beacon yesterday, I realized that I actually had quite a bit to learn about what the program actually does, so I dug a little deeper and read many more posts from PR and marketing experts on the issue. And? The more I read, the more I came around to Geoff’s way of thinking. In particular was this post from Todd Defren, who notes that marketers are recognizing the need for social media to be incorporated in their plans, but have yet to fully grasp what that should entail, causing them to turn to schemes like the Beacon. “Important!  But hard to figure out.  I think proud young Facebook has yet to get it right. Using Beacon, for example, advertisers and e-commerce sites can capture and publish your activities to your newsfeed, which in turn advertises your movements to your friends. Get it?  Your movements become their advertisements.”

Beacon Brother
Groundswell
Charlene Li of Forrester had a disturbing “run in” with the Beacon recently. For those of you still unfamiliar, the Beacon plants a cookie in your browser, which then posts your activities on other site automatically to your Facebook newsfeed. Charlene purchased a coffee table on Overstock.com, and the purchase showed up on Facebook without her knowledge or consent. Even scarier, one of her readers purchased an engagement ring on Overstock—leading to his girlfriend and web community finding out about his plans to propose before he could even get on one knee. “There's a fine line that gets crossed when behavior data slips from being a convenience to being Big Brother. This is one of those times. Give me back my control by letting me opt-in (not opt-out as is currently the case), or I'm installing the Beacon Blocker.”

Baaaaa...
Deep Jive Interests
In a post that sums up my previous position on the idea of Facebook Beacon, Tony Hung points out that generally speaking, Facebook users are pretty much sheep. They flock to the site without considering (or really caring all that much, frankly) the implications of the types of information they are forking over. He argues, incorrectly I’ve decided, that no one will really care one way or another if their purchases are shared with their friends. “Average Facebook users neither know, nor care about the intricacies and *importance* of owning, tending, and guarding, one’s personal data, information, and relationships — unless it directly and overtly impacts their own personal sense of privacy today. And Facebook knows it. In fact, its billion dollar valuation hinges on it.”

 

Facebook App Spam Hurting Personal Brands?
Six Pixels of Separation
In a Facebook complaint entirely unrelated to the FBH (“Facebook Beacon Hysteria”), Mitch Joel rants about the annoying factor involved in the relentless invites Facebook spasm its network with every time a friend adds a new application to their page. He rightly notes that most users sending these invites probably aren’t even aware they are doing it, as often the application will automatically blast a message to all your friends. Mitch argues that to consistently spam your friends list with invites to join your latest applications will have a negative impact on your brand. “Bottom line: this is building the Facebook application developer's brand... and killing your personal brand. Whether you do it knowingly or are an unwilling accomplice, I see messages and invites from certain people and there's a bad taste in my mouth. I've read all about adjusting my security options so I don't get these messages/invites, but that's not the point either. I want the people who are ‘sending’ them to be educated. I want them to know how badly it's hurting their Personal Brand. I want them to better understand how these channels connect and what their online personal brand feels like to others.”

 

Brevity is the Soul of Wit (and Other PR Blog Jots)

A 22-word Press Release Headline?!? Pshaw!
The Bad Pitch Blog
One of the hardest things about any kind of writing is keeping it brief. We all tend to ramble at times, and sometimes the wordiness can run amok. When I was responsible for editing all the outgoing documents for a DC-based PR shop, I found that wordiness particularly enjoyed running amok in the headlines of press releases. Apparently, Google agrees, recently advising Business Wire that press releases with headlines exceeding 22 words will be overlooked by its spiders. Kevin Dugan gives some excellent advice on how to cut it down, and perhaps ensure that your release stands out from the rest. “Cut the Crap: Buzzwords and puffy adjectives get executives all excited. This excitement fuels long-winded headlines that get past legal because they don’t say anything. And these headlines are a red flag to journalists sifting through hundreds of releases a day.”

Facebook Meets Madison Ave (and No One Likes It)
The Buzz Bin
I’m hoping to pull together my own thoughts on the highly controversial Facebook Beacon application, which has some users crying foul over invasions into their privacy. In the meantime, check out Geoff Livingston’s take. While I think generally, that there is absolutely no such thing as privacy on the Internet, and that conducting any sort of activity online (from banking to socializing) is a complete crapshoot for the privacy-conscious, Geoff thinks that Facebook has surrendered itself to Madison Avenue and put ad revenue before the needs of its community—and that the decision will hurt them. “Marketers and companies must understand it’s a fractured media environment and that consumers have Millions of Choices. How long until consumers think that another media form is more interesting than Facebook? Organizations who use social media for WOM campaigns, or hope to generate revenue through this dynamic two-way medium must serve their communities!”

You Don't Own Me
Tech PR Gems
I continue to be amazed by the number of posts wondering who will win “ownership” of social media. No one can really “own” it, can they? I think the jist is that some industries may make the best use of it, and therefore take home the most advantage. Doug Haslam agrees with my thinking, noting that each industry currently jockeying for position will bring different needs and strengths to the table, so no one will really win outright. “Who will own social media? It really depends on the organization, and the goals. If a social media effort is for branding, then perhaps advertising has a hand in it. If they are communicating messages (ahem, "relating to the public"), then perhaps PR is the lead. If lead generation is the main goal, maybe it's marketing. I agree with Shel Holtz; the concept of "ownership" of social media is absurd (I'm so glad I can say that without being called a Communist). It's a combination of all the MarComm/Advertising groups that make social media work, depending on the goals.”

Community Management How-To (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Guidelines for Community Management
Web Strategy by Jeremiah
The role of community manager is spreading rapidly through industries that value online communications and networks; but what does a community manager really do? That’s the question Jeremiah Owyang put to his Twitter followers recently, and he has boiled down the responses to four specific guidelines to the community manager position. They are: community advocacy, brand evangelism, excellent communication skills and research for product development. “In this evangelistic role (it goes both ways) the community manager will promote events, products and upgrades to customers by using traditional marketing tactics and conversational discussions. As proven as a trusted member of the community (tenet 1) the individual has a higher degree of trust and will offer good products.”

MSM Losing Credibility to Bloggers?
Six Pixels of Separation
While bloggers take a lot of online heat for posting reviews or other posts that they have been compensated for in some way (known as “blogola” or “pay-per-post”), we don’t often think the mainstream media engages very often in the same behavior. Mitch Joel posts about an experience with a very well-respected mainstream publication, which rejected a pitch from his firm on the basis that they are not subscribers to the publication. Are MSM publications in the habit of requiring PR pros to subscribe before they will accept their pitches, and is that not the definition of pay-per-post? “Bloggers go at it tooth and nail on the topic of pay-per-post and can get evil on the innocuous topic of running ads on a Blog, and here is a trusted traditional print media outlet that is prioritizing news based on whether you are paying them or not. If that's not pay-per-post... what is?”

Speaking of Pay-Per-Post...
Mike’s Points
The idea of accepting payment for blog posts is a hotly debated topic in the blogosphere, particularly Pay-Per-Post, which compensates bloggers for product reviews or other opinions. Mike Driehorst points out that that while he doesn’t have a big problem with PPP so long as the blogger discloses their compensation, these types of posts fall into a category of their own. A “real” blog post, he argues, is more organic, honest and transparent. “As a public relations/marketing communications professional, I will not ask a blogger for a published review. I figure that, if a person blogs, he or she is naturally opinionated and will (postiviely or negatively) blog about the product, if he or she wants to. The only thing I will ask for is for feedback — privately. That is one of the greatest values: objective subjective feedback. Granted, however, I do tend to expect, or hope bloggers to blog about the product (because, as I stated, they’re opinionated). So, while not asking for a post, I have stated that, if a blogger does, then we’d try to work out a system where any of his or her readers who order a product and reference the blog, receives a small discount.”

Yep, Something Else is Now "Dead"
PR 2.0
Many bloggers are calling for a “death to death memes,” noting that there is a new post seemingly every other day pointing to something else in the PR business that is now “dead.” While I tend to agree, Brian Solis’ post declaring the traditional PR pitch dead is compelling. He argues that the PR industry went off the rails at some point and forgot that while we stress the importance of real relationships in the era of social media, we should have been stressing them all along—if we had, then maybe there would be fewer angry posts from bloggers and journalists complaining about PR spam. “At the end of the day, PR is about people. Yes, it's about Public Relations and not about spam, mass marketing, and impersonal, blind pitches that only dig the entire industry into a deeper hole. How do we as PR shift from pitching to engaging in conversations? Let's start by burying the generic "pitch" and everything it represents.”

Strategies for Viral are a Little Sketchy
Twopointouch
Most would argue that there is no real strategy for creating a popular viral video. Some of the best virals making the rounds on YouTube weren’t designed to reach such huge audiences, but were just something that clicked with the right audience at the right time. But a recent TechCrunch post has caused quite a stir recently, as viral marketers reveal some arguably shady practices for getting eyeballs on their videos. Ian Delaney wonders what all the fuss is about, pointing out that the techniques they recommend actually make a lot of sense. “Personally, I thought the article offered some really useful information for anyone submitting a video to get it noticed among the other 19,999 videos submitted to YouTube on any given day. The initial tips for creating videos that appeal should be written on the bedroom walls of some of the aspiring ‘film-makers’ that appear on the site.”

Giving Thanks (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Ike Pigott tagged me in the following meme, and I’m responding by dedicating this PR Blog Jots to his and others’ posts on thankfulness, in honor of the Thanksgiving holiday. I will also be writing my own post on what I’m thankful for, coming later on today. In the meantime…

Thanks for the Direction
Communications Overtones
Kicking off the thankfulness meme, Kami Huyse discusses the person who had a greate influence on her career, and how thankful she is to them. Back in her “green” days, Kami phoned a real estate editor to pitch a story, and was shocked when he interrupted to ask her why he and his readers should care about her pitch. Momentarily flummoxed, she was able to successfully sell the story and get the placement for her client—and has been grateful ever since that he chose to guide her rather than reject her. “He could have published my name in a list of miscreants and off-topic pitches, he could have hung up the phone, but instead he taught me how to do it right.  He retooled my pitch, he asked me why.”

Thanks for the Mentor
The Buzz Bin
In his response to the meme, Geoff Livingston gives thanks for a mentor in a previous stage of his career, working for what is now Monster doing business development. After struggling under a previous supervisor, Geoff gained new approaches and attitudes from his new one and turned his slumping sales figures around, learning values that would guide him throughout his career. “It was more important to listen than talk, to give than take, to represent yourself accurately from the get-go. Why? My job was to build trust and faith so that business could occur. And he made me realize when I was negative, I projected it, and attracted bad results. He helped me refocus on the positive.”

Thanks to Many
Occam’s Razor
Unable to pinpoint the one specific person who had the greatest influence on his career, Ike Pigott salutes the many ways that several different people have influence him—including those who provided negative obstacles for him to overcome. His can be considered a “that which does not kill me only makes me stronger” take on the subject. He also provides several names of those with a positive influence as well. “There are many people who had an influence on me. Most of them are people who underestimated me in one way or another - who applied a prejudice against me, counted me out before giving me a chance. Those sorts of challenges just become the next fuel for my flame.”

Thanks to the Boss From Hell
Stuffelufagus
While Ike named several folks who impacted his career in a positive way precisely by being negative, Rob La Gesse has only one: the quintessential Boss From Hell. He describes toiling in a job that made him depressed under a nasty woman who only made it worse, and how one day he decided (almost on a whim) to just up and quit and go to work for Radio Shack. In just six months he was managing one of the more successful Radio Shack franchises, and having a blast, not to mention being a far better boss than the one he’d had. A good reminder that even the people who are negative forces in our lives can change us for the better. “Radio Shack also taught me about dealing with people - employees, managers, and customers. I also learned about managing costs, salary, marketing, hiring and firing, etc, etc. But most of all - the most important thing I learned - I never wanted to be Doris. So thanks, Doris. You were a mean, conniving, cruel, self-centered nasty human being. But you made me a better boss than I might have been had I not met you.”

Embracing Multi-Media PR (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Hey, if MSM can do it...
Marketing Profs Daily Fix
In an excellent primer for any PR pro looking to incorporate multi-media strategies into their client campaigns, Scott Baradell offers guidance on the best kinds of media to add and how to do it. He points out that even mainstream print publications are utilizing multi-media platforms to promote their work, citing the Dallas Morning News’ recent video highlighting a several-part story on crime. Scott discusses the benefits of expanding beyond plain text, arguing that it is not necessary for all companies, and the first step is determining the value it would add (if any). “Multimedia should be a higher priority for some companies than others. For example, if your product has strong potential for television/radio coverage (cosmetic medical technologies are a great example), you should definitely post video to your Web site and include VNRs or b-roll with your media distributions. Additionally, all companies with a customer base of heavy Web users, or who generate a significant portion of their revenues through the Web, should be adding video to the mix.”

Twittiquette
Clipping the Social Web
Twitter has been all aflutter lately with discussions on proper etiquette—must we automatically follow back the people that follow us, and vice versa? I recently got an influx of new followers, and decided to follow them all back for a while and see what the value would be, because I’ve been torn on this subject. Julia Roy argues that the only way for Twitter to work as an interactive conversation is to engage in purely mutual following. She explains how to figure out who isn’t following you back, and drop them if you wish, after giving them a chance at redeeming themselves. “I would give them a chance, de-follow, then re-follow and if they still don't follow you back, say c-yah. Unless of course you want their updates whether or not they actually follow you back.”

Digg Secrets
Copyblogger
I tend to think that writing a “Diggable” post that ends up hitting the front pages at the popular social bookmarking site is similar to creating a viral video: there’s no real way to explain how to do it, as it’s usually a happy accident. Jon Morrow thinks there are a few tricks you can use, however, to write Digg-worth posts, and offers them up here. He suggests simply writing about the topics that Digg users tend to love most, and if that’s not your subject area, just try to be provocative. “If you’re a fanatic, you might be tempted to ruminate about the history of different types of plants, but unless it involves sex, murder, or politics, you won’t get much attention from social media. Instead, look to your passions. For instance, you might believe that gardening makes the world a better place. It just so happens that Digg loves stories about helping the environment and saving the world.

Add Comments, Add Value
Six Pixels of Separation
Any social media enthusiast worth their salt will tell you that one of the best ways to spread the word about a new blog you’re launching is to comment frequently and intelligently on other blogs devoted to your subject matter—but how many of us practice what we preach? Mitch Joel admits that his own commenting practices have lapsed lately, and vows to recommit himself to joining the conversations going on in his community. I think we’d all do well to follow his lead. “I'm becoming increasingly more aware that while the conversation on this Blog is deep and rich, I need to "be out there" to keep up with what's going and, more importantly, to get my ideas out there. Having a Blog and Podcast is, simply, not enough. I need to encourage the conversation here, trackback to those Blogs that are inspiring me, but - more importantly - I have to get out of lurker mode and engage in the conversation that is taking place beyond my own RSS feed.”

How do you Define New Media? (and Other PR Blog Jots)

Defining New Media
Conversation Agent
Considering how much time we all spend touting its virtues, I’m not sure I’ve ever actually heard a clear definition for what qualifies as new media. Valeria Maltoni tackles the issue, citing a Vin Crosbie article that defined the term as communicating in a “many-to-many” format. In other words, using the new technologies available such as XML and RSS, consumers are able to take in news and information from multiple sources. She builds further on this definition, noting the necessity of audience participation, something the mainstream media is still struggling to grasp in this new era. “I really like the idea of collaboration because it builds on individual resources and expertise and makes the networks aggregated in this fashion much stronger and more committed. When participation is the price of entry, loyalty goes way up. This is the place where conversations come in, an open-ended format in which many-to-many co-create and contribute to evolved content.”

"I call BS!"
Hyku
In a well thought out rant responding to some of the poor social media and PR advice coming out of conferences lately, Josh Hallett wonders why we have such a hard time calling BS on speakers claiming to be “social media experts.” This is the latest in a bunch of posts I’ve seen on blogs and Twitter lately wondering if anyone can even claim to be an expert in something that is still so new to the PR landscape. I agree with Josh; the best way to approach someone espousing ideas that aren’t quite right (such as editing your clients’ Wikipedia entries, which…no), is to simply politely challenge them. He points out that many social media “experts” out there haven’t even run a social media campaign, and wonders if you have to before you can be in a position to speak on the subject. “Yes, you can still provide clients with a baseline of education without having much of a project base to draw from, but until you've actually run a social media campaign/project you just don't know it all. I'm not saying I know it all, it's a relative scale. If I say something you think is BS in a speech, call me on it, question it. Let's talk about it.”

Your Social Media Holiday Season
Pulver Blog
This idea is so delightfully nerdy, I just might have to do it—although I imagine most of my non-social media friends would simply shake their heads at just how far over to the Geek Side their formerly normal friend has gone. Jeff Pulver recommends turning your holiday party into a “real-time social networking event,” giving guests the opportunity to create nametags with their personal tag line, and “tag” each other with Post-its as though writing on a Facebook wall. “To keep things interesting, ask some of your friends to bring their cameras to help capture the moment. Make sure you come up with and share the social tag your guests should use when blogging about the event and/or sharing images from it. You might want to encourage your friends to actively use twitter and Facebook during the party. Maybe record a video or two and uploaded it to YouTube and/or seesmic before the end of the party.”

Second Life Marketing = Yawwwn
Marketing Conversations
Second Life has a wide user base, and has enjoyed plenty of promotion in the popular culture lately (most notably when Dwight Schrute showed off his avatar on the popular comedy “The Office”), so it’s a natural that marketers want to advertise within the virtual community. The only problem is how to get your ad in front of any of the users. Chessia Kelley points out that since avatars can teleport anywhere, billboards or other location-based ads are pretty useless, and while many marketers have created intricate virtual islands, they have a hard time attracting visitors without compelling content. Even more notable is the lack of creativity, as advertisers are outdone by SL users themselves. “Another huge problem is that Second Life is a fantasy where users can create flashy designs of their own that are free of production costs and mass production.  In this world advertisers products are boring, unimaginative, and banal.  Car companies are trying to compete with college kids who lovingly create muscle cars that fly.”

Are You Going to the SNCR Symposium?
A Shel of my Former Self
Shel Holtz noted recently that registration seems down for the upcoming Research Symposium and Awards Gala, an SNCR event held in Boston this December 5 and 6. Perhaps it’s the busy nature of the holiday season, but you should consider trying to fit this event into your schedule. They’ve got some great speakers lined up, and as Shel points out, supporting research in this industry will benefit everyone. So don’t delay, sign up now! “Speakers include John Cass, Paul Gillin, Richard Nacht and Shel Israel, among others. A slew of case studies will be presented and the registration fee supports the Society, whose work benefits all of us.”

CustomScoop's PR PodJots

Welcome to another edition of CustomScoop’s PR PodJots, our weekly rundown of the best of the PR and marketing podosphere.

It’s another busy podcasting week leading into next week’s holiday—and I know you’ll all be disappointed to learn there will be no new PodJots next Friday, the 23^rd, as I will likely be fighting my way through hordes of Black Friday shoppers (I can never resist joining in!).  Never fear, we will post a super-sized edition the following week to ensure we don’t miss any of your episodes.

On to the Jots!

New Comm Road – Multimedia Conference Blogging

Bryan Person discusses using blogs to help guide your multimedia conferences. Bryan emphasizes that keeping a blog for your conference is important, but keeping it updated throughout the conference is just as vital. He cites a couple of recent conferences succeeding at blogging, including PRSA International and the much-discussed UGA-Connect Conference held recently, where participants kept the “viewers at home” abreast of conference events with constant blogging, Tweeting, Flickr streams and other methods.

The “event blog” is only as good or informative as the organizers make it—if you set up a blog with the bare bones information that is better than nothing, but why create a blog in the first place if you’re not going to jam it with as many juicy tidbits as possible? Bryan gives the “Road Map” for creating the best possible event blog, including using your conference blog as the “information hub” during the conference and encouraging the use of tagging so particpants can easily sort through everyone’s thoughts.

Also discussed:

• Setting appropriate goals
• Using a multi-author format
• Monitoring visitors using Google Analytics or a similar tool

PRobecast – Whole Foods Smackdown

Doug Haslam and Adam Zand revisit the Whole Foods PR gaffe from earlier this year, in which CEO John Mackey posted under a false name to online message boards. Whole foods has responded (poorly) by banning top executives from blogging or participating in social media at all. Doug and Adam point out that it shows a fundamental lack of trust between the company and its executives, and wonder why it took the board so long to make the decision. Adam also points out that this may be a first amendment issue. 

While I certainly understand the reasoning behind this move, I wish it didn’t come off as such a heavy-handed afterthought. Rather than tightening the leash on their executives, why isn’t someone form the Whole Foods PR team engaging them in appropriate social media education? Cracking down is certainly one way to avoid something like this reoccurring, but wouldn’t everyone be better served by guidance rather than restriction? This is a blown opportunity.

Also discussed:

• The PR Roundtable
• Yahoo! and China
• Prince hates his fans?

Around the PR Podcast Horn (in alphabetical order):

Disruptive Dialogue – Jeff Taylor on LinkedIn – With all of the social networking options out there, it is refreshing to see how-to podcasts that will make life a little easier for those that want to get involved. In this podcast, Custom Scoop CEO Chip Griffin and Fleishman-Hillard Senior Vice President Jeff Taylor take a close look at the business-oriented social network LinkedIn. As Taylor notes, LinkedIn can frustrate some initially, but is an invaluable tool for those that engage in the community. The two agree that people can effectively use the service in different ways, but it is important to go into it with a strategy in mind.

Forward Podcast #35 – The Young PR Community – Luke and Paul tout Young PR Pros (YPRP), a growing community for young PR professionals that started as a Yahoo group and has branched out onto a number of social networks. The bulk of this week’s podcast is Luke’s interview with Kevin Barry, the group’s moderator across four social networks. They explain how the groups serves as an excellent support tool for those that are new to the profession, moving to a new town, or even old pros.

For Immediate Release – #292 and #293 – On Monday’s show (recorded on Sunday), Neville praises Personal Branding's "A Brand You World - 2007 Global Telesummit" that he participated in and notes that the content is posted as podcasts.  Shel encourages listeners to read and update the New PR calendar for upcoming new media conferences.  On Thursday, the pair mentions that Facebook has the added feature of creating secondary pages.  Shel announces that the duo will be launching an advertising campaign to gage the effectiveness of communicating and networking on Facebook.

Inside PR – The Art of Conversation – Relationship building being the basis for good public relations, David and Terry discuss an important element as their main topic of discussion this week: the art of “critical yet collegial conversation.” Blogging and other forms of social media sometimes lend themselves to disagreements, and learning how to keep your head and be reasonable when your back is against the wall is important to keeping good relationships, and clients for that matter.

Managing the Gray – C.C. Goes to Emerson – C.C. Chapman reflects on his resent Q&A session on social media at Boston’s Emerson College and takes additional questions from callers. Chapman touts the benefits of social media in general and the importance of participating and experimenting even if the potential benefits are not immediately clear.

Marketing Martini – Domain Name Leasing – This week, host Bill Sweetman talks domain name leasing with Jonathan Boswell of LeaseThis.com. In the short interview, they discuss the concept of leasing domain names, something I’d never considered. But if you think about it, domain names can be every bit as expensive as a car, so if leasing is a more affordable option, then why not?

Marketing Over Coffee – Ride the Wave – In a special evening edition of Marketing Over Coffee, Chris and John discuss (among their usual wide variety of topics) the idea of “email wave campaigns,” conducting a series of several marketing emails using different subject lines to determine which subjects best result in getting the email read. He also wryly notes that email has become an “old school” method in marketing, as it is celebrating its 10-year (at least) anniversary.

The Rundown – The Bad Pitch Bloggers – Kevin Dugan and Richard Laermer, the bloggers in charge of the grade-A blog exposing bad PR pitches, The Bad Pitch Blog, sit down with Luke Armour on the Rundown this week. They discuss the recent Internet fracas involving bad PR, the history of their blog, and how best to educate students and professionals alike on good social media practices.

Six Pixels of Separation- Website Guidance – Aside from touching on the issue springing up this week regarding who will ultimately “win” ownership of social media tools, Mitch Joel plays another interview he conducted at PodCamp Boston 2. This time he spoke with Jared Spool from User Interface Engineering about how to develop and nurture your website. Jared gives the “six points” this week, including how to use SEO to your advantage, as well as the importance of good design and (of course) link love.