Big Brother and Facebook

I used to think that everyone on facebook was being bombarded with ads for Arrested Development t-shirts and American Apparel. Not so. It seems that facebook monitors not only which ads you click on, but also your actual profile info to target ads to you. Information about the countries in which you access facebook also sticks; after living in France for 8 months I still get ads intended for French citizens applying for US visas.

My friend clicked on a link for meeting "cute, single girls", and now he gets ads for singles sites every time he logs in. So there's at least one downside of targeted ads, they may remind you of doing something embarrassing you'd rather forget :)

The Post Goes 2.0

We've come a long way since the '90s AOL chat rooms, now Washington Post is running discussions all day. It's essentially a moderated chat room, with expert hosts on sports, music, economics, politics, etc.

Great way to offer people a direct connection to the news and journalists, check out the one running right now on the Superbowl music line up.

You can find all of the daily discussions on the left sidebar of the Post's homepage.

Pitch Perfect: Simple and SMRs

Today's session consisted of two webinars which detailed both the simple and the syndicated. RSS feeds, Wikis, Embeds, and Hubs are terms familiar to the new SMR, though don't discount the simple tactics when pitching, as one of Axiom's well-rounded interns Annie Vanasek observed:

There are many things that may come as obvious to-dos when pitching a reporter. But it is always nice to be reminded of what you should and should not do when delivering your pitch. For example, I had already been aware of the importance of researching your reporter and knowing their beat before you try to pitch them, but today's webinar seemed to hammer it into my brain.

The three tips to always follow are:

• You should develop your story into something that would be attractive to them. With a creative mind, you can give them what they want while still making sure your news is covered. (At the same time, if you are having trouble figuring out how the two relate, then you probably shouldn't be pitching them in the first place.)

• Something from their archives that can be useful to you in your pitch. For example, if you are pitching a restaurant's new recipe and you discovered that they have included recipes in their past articles.

• The final one is a combination of the two. You can grab the reporter's attention by referencing one of their past articles, then telling them how you can help them with your story.

Social Media Releases
Now a new topic emerges, though it's not new to the PR scene. Hardly. Since its inception by Todd Defren, the social media release (SMR) can be a journalist's best friend. How tech savvy do you have to be to navigate it? If you can't navigate the web, a blog, or some other web hub, you'll likely have difficulty.

PR/Web 2.0 enthusiast Brian Solis led the talk about SMRs and they're feasibility for a new and improved online press room, and wired services.

Before I go into more detail, check out the conversation prism as I delve into many blogs on this topic, including Solis' own Web site.

Google Thinks You're Popular

Google has plans to rank social influence. They currently have a patent pending for technology that ranks your social influence on sites like Facebook and MySpace.

How it would work? This article sums it up:

"The new technology could track not just how many friends you have on Facebook but how many friends your friends have. Well-connected chums make you particularly influential. The tracking system also would follow how frequently people post things on each other’s sites. It could even rate how successful somebody is in getting friends to read a news story or watch a video clip, according to people familiar with the patent filing."


While this seems like it would turn into a high school popularity contest, this is also good news for advertisers. They will be able to seek out the most influential people in a group or niche, therefore having more targeted and effective ads. Also, I'll admit it, I would be interested to see where I rank among my fellow Facebookers & Twitterers.

Facebook App Gets a Much Needed Update

I've finally converted. Today I have switched over to using the Facebook iPhone app as opposed to the Facebook mobile website. Facebook finally got it right.

Basically, everything on the web-version of Facebook has been condensed down into a slick application for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

My problem with the Facebook application before, was that it didn't have a status update feature and lacked a few others: new home page, comments, ability to read notes, ability to see posted items, etc...

Check out a photo below from TechCrunch:



This update alleviates all of my past issues with the Facebook App in the past. The update is well worth downloading.


You can download the updated version here.

Wall Street Journal Wine Club

With newspapers nervous about their impending doom, a lot of cutbacks are being made across the country. More news from the wire, smaller sub-sections (such as travel), and more blogging efforts are all results of the struggling business.

Wall Street Journal has come up with a creative new way to subsidize revenue; they're starting a WSJ wine club. It's one of those wine-of-the-month clubs as found in SkyMall, except WSJ runs it, kind of. They're teaming up with Direct Wines, and other than loaning their name the collaboration isn't clear.

Regardless, if you want to support the WSJ and get something out of it, this seems pretty viable. And hey, maybe it's about time those economic commentators put their money where their mouths are and diversified their portfolios! On the other hand, how many people want to sign up for a wine of the month club during this dire economic downturn?

Read the WSJ-bashing NYT artice here (spoiler: author implies that WSJ readers aren't "effete" enough for wine): (NYT)

Everyone is Getting Social

A new survey released from Cone, Inc. suggests that 93% of consumers expect companies to be involved in social media. From the blog post here:

* Companies should use social networks to solve my problems (43%)
* Companies should solicit feedback on their products and services (41%)
* Companies should develop new ways for consumers to interact with their brand (37%)
* Companies should market to consumers (25%)

What to make of this?

Consumers like feeling involved with brands they buy (not all brands, but as a generalization). They like having the inside scoop and feeling like the company cares about their input. Customers feel like they can influence a brand when they are connected through social networks. When you put out a tweet on Twitter about how frustrated you are with Comcast and ComcastCares writes you back within a few minutes and lets you know that a service rep is en route to your home, it is comforting.

Social media isn't for every company, but those who can should take full advantage of it.

How Newspapers Utilize Twitter...

Twitter can be a great site for Newspapers. They can also be incredibly boring and bland. What separates the two? A real person.

The best news source I have seen on Twitter: SunTimes

I won't name the worst one, especially since we pitch to it, but it spews out about 5 tweets at a time with links to their news stories. Some of the links don't work. They don't follow anyone. It is merely a way for them to send out links to their stories.

Now why is SunTimes so great?

They are a real person. They follow people back. They engage in conversation. They ask for opinions. They are connected.

Individual reporters on Twitter realize this, so why don't the newspapers get it?

An Epic Fail Whale

While watching the presidential debate on Friday, I was also following along with the conversation on Twitter. As expected, most people on Twitter were following the debate and giving their play-by-play commentary. With so many people on Twitter, I hoped Twitter would have beefed up their servers for the heavy amount of traffic they were going to receive during the debate. I knew better though. I predicted a 'fail whale' and it did indeed happen:




The 'fail whale' came out during the debate. While it wasn't long lasted, it was still an epic fail. Imagine if you were watching the Super Bowl and your TV reception kept going in and out, you wouldn't stay with that cable company much longer would you? Twitter needs a business model, a revenue stream, and more reliable servers.



The VP debate is this Thursday. Let's hope Twitter can handle it. I wouldn't bet on it though.

Does Twitter Have a Tipping Point?

I think so. At least somewhat. I've slowly been building followers for Axiom. Since I hit 200 people following me, I've noticed a lot more people adding me each day. Also, I am more likely to get @axiompr replies to my Tweets. Interesting thought, but obviously with more people following you, the more credibility you are perceived as having.

See the trend for yourself here.

Someone Deserves a Pay Raise...

This is brilliant. It is taking something that has already been established as a medium for distribution, YouTube, and shaking it up. Literally. Whoever came up with this idea knows what they are doing.

Check it out here.

Pitch Perfect: Microblogging

Pitching is all about relationships. Twitter is all about instantaneous exchange of status updates/information. If you combine the two, you no longer need to muddle through stuffed inboxes and mailboxes to get to that prized reporter.

More reporters are hitting up the genius of Twitter nowadays, and they aren’t just tech reporters. You can now find a whole slew of journalism mavens positing themselves on Twitter, Friendfeed, and Facebook. In pitching a reporter, Facebook has been the exchange agent of choice, though your best bet is microblogging – because it’s personal, fast, and unconventional. Reporters love to be people.

In order to properly navigate this new information exchange, you might want to remind them of their humanness by sending a greeting. First, it’s important to see what they’ve “tweeted” and respond to it in a professional manner. You can even “follow” them first and type in an @ followed by their handle to send a message. Same principles of a pitch: if they like what they see, they’ll follow you too.

Next, check out their numerous tinyurl link updates that will give you access to their latest articles written. Follow same procedure as above, only this time mention their article and your client’s area of expertise—but as with the length of a voicemail pitch, you must do it in 140 characters or less.

Happy Tweeting! And for Pete’s Sake, stop poking on Facebook.

A Twitter Experiment

A blogger enlisted a few Twitterers to post a link to one of his blog posts and see how traffic improved. The results of his experiment are here.

This is an idea Ive always wanted to try. I figured that it would work, but it is hard to tell to what degree. The problem with this blogger's experiment is that he simply said that the hits on his website doubled. Did they double from 5-10 people or 5k to 10k? It is a vague term. I wish he would have clarified that, but it is an interesting experiment never the less.

Your Press Release is Lame

...now you can have your press releases graded for you. Press Release Grader scores press releases on a scale out of 100. Now you will be able to understand why no reporters are responding to you.

Is it accurate though? Not sure, but according to the comments from the article here, Press Release Grader gives their own press release a 0/100.

Flickr With a Timeline

While Flickr and Facebook allow you to upload your photos, LifeSnapz allows you to upload photos/videos in a chronological format. This is a great idea, since many people on Facebook have upwards of 500 pictures tagged to just themselves. Below is a sample pic from TechCrunch.

Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon on LinkedIn

This may not come as a surprise to you, but it definitely stunned me. LinkedIn usually sends a disclaimer when you click on a high-profile individual about having nothing in common with the person with who you are trying to connect. Well, what do you know? Kevin Bacon knows someone who knows me.

LinkedIn is a professional ground for not only celebrities but politicians. Look up all of the major politicians you see broadcast over CNN, MSNBC, Nightly News with Brian Williams, and voila-- they have 500+ contacts. Barack Obama has attained the 500+ status; John McCain has too, adding on 30 recommendations part of his tenure as the Arizona Senator.

With profiles that provide a detailed account of a celebrity's employment, or should I say acting history, can we really trust that it is indeed the person whose autograph we so desperately long to have and display?

Regarding politicians on LinkedIn, I'm not sure this is the best way to utilize social media to garner public support. It seems like a third-party website is the best way to reach your constituents. Or then again, maybe those 50 bajillion e-mail messages I receive from my presidential hopeful may do the online political network a bit of justice.

Should you ever want to send Kevin Bacon an e-mail, write to him at KEVIN.BAC0N@hotmail.com. (That's a zero between C and N in BAC0N), he says.

Publicity When You Don't Expect It

Do you think that Ben & Jerry's expected to be making headlines this week? No new flavors coming out, no special announcement, no anniversary...they could have hardly expected to make headlines.

So what happened?

PETA drafted a letter to Ben and Jerry's asking them to stop using cow milk and use human milk instead for their ice cream. They came back with the response of "We applaud PETA's novel approach to bringing attention to an issue, but we believe a mother's milk is best used for her child."

This will backfire on PETA

By PETA trying to get Ben and Jerry's to stop using cow's milk, they gave the ice cream makers a very expensive amount of free publicity. All of that free publicity might just briefly spur sales of the ice cream. Just writing about this is making me crave some of the Cookie Dough ice cream....

Top 100 Most Undiscovered Web Sites

PC Mag put together a list of the Top 100 Most Undiscovered Web Sites. This is a pretty interesting list to browse through. Many unique social sites are included. One of the most creative is: SocialVibe.

Clay Aiken and Citizen Journalists

She may not have been the first woman to announce this (Rosie O'Donnell), but a stay-at-home mom blogger outed Clay Aiken before the media did. Featuring baby news and celebrity gossip, this stereotypical mom blog featured a quick blurb about the happy couple's baby boy and the surrogate mother involved. Then People, USA Today and a number of radio stations proclaimed: "I'm gay, says Clay Aiken." And it was all this week. Her post: months earlier.

It just goes to show that bloggers are better at keeping up on things than even the hottest celebrity critics... and any beat reporter imaginable. Social media and networking devices are paving the way for citizen journalists and the new flow of communication will only continue. Bloggers, YouTubers, Twitterers, and Facebookers are reaping great benefits. Black and white for a group, event, or product otherwise overlooked-- if only attached to a news release-- isn't bad at all. I'm keeping my eye out on you, America, as both a participant and creator of opportunity.

But if you do consult a blog source, you might want to check out frequency of comments, number of unique visitors per month, and if they're blogging about their bad day more than once-- remove them from your RSS feeds.

Too much technology?

Everyone wants to stay up-to-date with each other, hence why social networks are so popular. But as they become more popular in the mobile world, at what cost do they have in the real world. The picture below and article from the New York Times put things into perspective.

The bottom line: People will always be distracted by something. Whether it is cell phones, iPods, or a new advertisement on the street; people are easily distracted. The best way to deal with it is to reinforce good habits, but my guess is that there will always be a new device that will be taking attention away from where it should be directed.

David Blaine is a bad ad agency

A young ad agency creates an ad campaign that is a hit. What do they do next? They think they have to do something bigger, better, louder, push the boundaries even further.

Compare that to David Blaine. A street magician who has made fame through various acts that would seem impossible. First it was spending 7 days buried under water without food, then he spent 3 days inside a frozen block of ice, then he spent 44 days in a glass case without food, and now for his next feat: Hanging upside down for 60 hours.

Agencies don't need to go bigger or spend more, they only need to be more creative. It is far more impressive to out-wit than out-spend. David Blaine doesn't need to hang upside down in one of his most dangerous stunts. There are a lot more creative ideas out there that would create more buzz that aren't quite as dangerous.


What do you think?

Oasis Street Marketing Follow-up

About a week or two ago, I commented on how Oasis had a brilliant idea for the release of their new CD: get street musicians to play the songs. Check out the video below.

Big Internet Startup To Get Bigger

Politico, perhaps the biggest source of online political news, is about to get bigger. They have plans to expand after the presidential election, both to increase their print circulation in DC and to add reporters. With so many top-notch newspapers closing, we really are seeing a media revolution. (NYT)

We Stumped ChaCha

My friend is subscribing to ChaCha, and we had a good time testing it out. The first try was to see if it could define "peripheral neuropathy", which happened to be a test question my friend had received earlier that day. ChaCha's def was graduate level, and would have raised some eyebrows on an entry-level college class.

The second question was "what should I write my Scarlet Letter paper on?" The answer came back within 5 minutes, the idea was morality, which is a little banal but definitely solid.

Our third question was "how many party balloons could we fill with a ton of helium?" ChaCha took about thirty minutes to say it was hard to tell. Hmm, looks like the internet can't figure everything out...yet.

CBS Eyemobile: Citizen journalists new outlet

CBS has launched a very cool application for the iPhone called Eyemobile.

The app lets you upload photos/videos to a user generated news site: CBSeyemobile.com

CBS is following the trend of a number of successful user generated services, such as CNN's iReport and Fox New's UReport.

Power to the consumer is the current web trend. With sites like Twitter and blogs still rising in popularity and allowing instant updates, never before has the average consumer been so empowered (or at least feels empowered).

I'll give credit to CBS for joining the trend, even though Eyemobile isn't a great choice for a name.

Twitter + Yellow Pages = Twellow

Twellow is a very cool search tool for Twitter. While Twitter Search (Summize) lets you seek out conversations, Twellow lets you search out users by their particular industry and then ranks the users by # of followers. This is a very useful site for locating experts in specific industries.

A Tale Of Two Reactions: Radiohead (And Their Fans) Wins Again

On the complete flipside of how Metallica reacted last week, Radiohead is once again showing that they understand how to interact with their fans. Earlier this year, the UK band released their song "Nude" in separate stem tracks - bass, drums, guitar, vocal tracks separately. Fans could purchase these stems, create their own remixes, and post their new versions on RadioheadRemix.com. Not only would top remixes be awarded prizes, but Thom Yorke and company would listen to the top picks as well.

In support of the popularity of this project, Radiohead has now released "Reckoner" from their In Rainbows project as stem files as well. These guys are geniuses. Radiohead has created a unique avenue to reach their audience - they give fans a chance to interact with the music in a new way, an organic online community grows as a result of the remixes, and the band still makes money by selling the stems. Everyone wins. Sounds like part of a business model that the music industry is desperately in need of researching.

Twitter Copy-Cats

It looks like Twitter has already inspired an imitation site, which is a sure sign that Twitter is huge. The new Twitter, called Gospelr, is a Christian version. For example, one Gospeller is posting a bible verse a day until he gets through the bible.

Whoa, that's a commitment.

The Twitter Song

"The Twitter Song" by Ben Walker is getting a lot of attention online. Check it out below.



Also, you can even get a Twitter Song shirt!

twitter moms

twittermoms is a new website that is catching the attention moms all over the world. Currently, Twittermoms boasts about 5,000 daily users, with 39% being classified as addicts.

This makes you wonder when twitter will start offering up groups? I'm sure users would like to stick to one page or application for twittering, but twitter has been lacking in the features department.

It is a smart idea for a website. Check it out.

Facebook like a Pirate

In honor of talk like a pirate day, which is today, Facebook allows the option to switch over your Facebook account from standard English to English (pirate).

Just go here and select English (Pirate). It is ridiculous, but a very funny idea.

I'm a bland commercial

Microsoft has pushed Seinfeld to the side for their new ad which actually features people talking about computers (not leather shoes). The PC plays the victim card and has "been made into a stereotype." They can't really claim to be victims since they still dominate the market, despite Apple gaining some market share on them.

They probably should have gone with another message. Although, this commercial is lacking something that the first two weren't: buzz. Look at all of the word-of-mouth that was spread online by bloggers and journalists. Each of those commercials have been watched over 1 million times on YouTube. This one is as forgettable as every other ad you see on TV.

Reporters don't have an easy job either

We sometimes hear from reporters/journalists that they empathize with us and understand how difficult of a job we have, constantly pitching stories. But reporters don't always have an easy job themselves. Take this video for example.

Friday Distraction

This is probably the funniest YouTube video I have seen in the last six months.

Goodbye Jerry, Hello Eva

News is that Microsoft is dropping Jerry Seinfeld and employing Eva Longoria for their new ads. Also, they're going to take the "I'm a PC" phrase from the Mac ads and somehow re-invent it.

Isn't Eva Longoria a little busy with those Dove bar ads? Also, I liked the Bill Gates/Seinfeld robot spots. But what I would REALLY like is some Microsoft ads that make sense.

Mad Men

I admit I was a little slow to jump on the Mad Men bandwagon, but I just finished the first season and I have to admit it deserved all those Emmys. It's great to see a quality show that's not on a premium channel; AMC did well! Who knew that the ad scene in the 1960s would be so interesting?

When Rori on Gilmore Girls waxed poetic about Harvard, or Meadow from the Sopranos decided on Columbia, both schools reported an increase in student interest. Will Mad Men create an increase in young advertising hopefuls?

English Continues It's Reign

According to a NYT article, English is the language of choice when marketing internationally. Particularly for luxury goods, it is seen as the most sophisticated choice. For household products, however, the local language is usually employed.

While linguistic education is clearly still important, it's nice to hear that Chinese or Spanish haven't taken over...yet.

Zuckerberg Speaks

Creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, posted a blog about his thoughts on the reaction to the new Facebook design:

“As people share more, sometimes we need to change the site to accommodate how much information people are posting …

… We realize that change can be difficult though. Many people disliked News Feed at first because it changed their home page and how they shared information. Now it’s one of the most important parts of Facebook. We think the new design can have the same effect …

… It’s tempting to say that we should just support both designs, but this isn’t as simple as it sounds. Supporting two versions is a huge amount of work for our small team, and it would mean that going forward we would have to build everything twice. If we did that then neither version would get our full attention …

… Even if you’re joining a group to express things you don’t like about the new design, you’re giving us important feedback and you’re sharing your voice, which is what Facebook is all about.”


7 Million have joined anti-new Facebook groups. That is a lot of people to be upset, but in the bigger picture it could be viewed as only 7% of users. And if 93% of the other users keep using Facebook, it is unlikely that those 7% will stop. They will get over it and move on with their life.

35W Back Open

It opened at 5am this morning. I'll be taking it this afternoon. As expected, there are already YouTube videos of the first people crossing. Check out the most entertaining one below.

Fred: Media's Chew Toy

Today's Wall Street Journal article revealed the seventh grader behind "Fred," a long-running YouTube series and quite frankly the most popular, garnering over 9 million views on some episodes like "Fred Loses His Meds" (shown above). Now since Lucas Cruikshank has been revealed time and time again, will his faithful fan base increase or decrease?

The majority demographic of "Fred" viewers seems to suggest 14+, though some video comments appear more mature than the typical teen text message (I'm hoping it's just due to the extraordinary education middle-schoolers are receiving nowadays). Nevertheless, this is the type of audience who could care less about newspapers. Myself-- I read the WSJ and am now a follower of "Fred." It just goes to show the generation media gap all the more.

"Fred" is nothing but teenager ADHD creativity at its finest degree, and the boy Lucas really knows how to captivate his audience by elements of surprise and downright hilarity. What really keeps the attention of his viewers is his chipmunk voice-- produced by speeding up the taping. Screams and shrieks, zany faces, and quirky mannerisms are among the traits that make "Fred" so appealing.

Now since he's been called on to promote "Ember, an upcoming movie featuring actor Tim Robbins, will this make his follow-up YouTube videos too commercial? I'm sure he has a number of advertisers phoning his new agent, calls about Nickelodeon "Kids Choice" Awards and perhaps the role of Shaggy in a Scooby Doo Kids series. "Fred" unknowingly has become a celebrity and is destined for Hollywood stardom. Lucas, you made it, but choose wisely.

Facebook The Movie

A few weeks ago, we commented on the news of a "Facebook Movie." If one was truly made, might it look like this?

Facebook In Real Life

This video goes to show how ridiculous Facebook would be, if it was in real life...

A Corporate Guide To Twitter

From this PR Week article:

1. Understand how Twitter works. Like every community, there are norms and expectations for participation. Read the Terms of Service and watch how other people are using Twitter first.



2. Don't assume Twitter doesn't affect you. There are more than two million people on Twitter, including a disproportionate number of bloggers, reporters, influencers, engaged consumers and even public officials. People tweet about companies frequently. You should be actively monitoring – before a potential crisis occurs.



3. Protect your brand. As with other online platforms, opponents and critics can disparage or even hijack your brand. You can minimize this risk by monitoring Twitter and proactively registering account names related to your brand (e.g., Twitter.com/brand or Twitter.com/tagline).



4. Create a plan. Develop guidelines for employees and designated spokespeople, including guidance on what they should and should not discuss. Create a process for channeling information requests that do not fall within these guidelines.



5. Be transparent. Authenticity is a critical value for participation. Clearly define who you are and why you are on Twitter. To verify your credentials, link to a page on your company's Web site that says, “Yes, this is an official communication” from your Twitter bio.



6. Get personal. Twitter asks its users a simple question: “What are you doing?” Companies on Twitter should engage personally, as an individual representing the company, rather than as a monolithic corporation or a series of stodgy media statements.



7. Be consistent. Tweet on a regular basis. You do not need to tweet every thought, but you should invest the time to actively engage the community and respond to your followers. One rule of thumb is to tweet as often as you eat, not as often as you breathe – three to four times a day.



8. Include links. Twitter limits communications to 140 characters but you can use services such as TinyURL to create short hyperlinks to additional information.



9. Ask for help. When in doubt, ask for help. Don't be afraid to ask questions about how Twitter works or how it might affect you. The community is receptive to companies that are sincere about tweeting.



10. Remember these best practices (Twitter-style in 140 characters or less). Understand the community & how it affects you; think before you act; be transparent, consistent, and personal; link to information and ask for help.

YouTube: Music without the video

Just because it is on YouTube, doesn't necessarily mean that it is a video. Many people use YouTube as a simple hosting site for songs. As AP points out:
"Though YouTube is known as the Internet’s greatest video warehouse, it’s becoming known as the place to find new music, no video needed. Put in the name of your favorite artist and there’s chance that besides an assortment of their videos, you’ll find a song with perhaps just a picture or a montage of photos to accompany it — and it still gets thousands of views.

If anyone wants to hear Akon’s remake of Michael Jackson’s ‘‘Wanna Be Starting Something,’’ it’s there. Someone yearning for the new Guns N’ Roses track ‘‘Shackler’s Revenge’’ or T.I.’s new release ‘‘Live Your Life’’ featuring Rihanna, all it takes is a quick search of their name and song title. No problem. While some of the songs are posted directly by an artist’s camp, others are uploaded by fans eager to share and discuss new music by their favorite act."

I've noticed this is especially common for leaked tracks and singles, since videos usually aren't available right away.

How to get a massive amount of views on YouTube:

...put up a video of Tina Fey impersonating Sarah Palin on SNL. The daily "most viewed" page has been flooded with the short sketch since Sunday morning. I'm surprised the videos haven't been removed. Usually, NBC is pretty strict on its content being on YouTube.

Remember Lazy Sunday? The sketch with Andy Samberg and Chris Parnell was incredibly popular. It was also removed from YouTube about as soon as you could upload it. It was a short SNL sketch that everyone seemed to love. But NBC would only let you watch it on their website, which isn't quite as convenient as YouTube. They struck down the free publicity they were receiving on YouTube. I understand where they are coming from: the sketch is popular so you want people to only watch it on your site, where you will be making money off ad revenue. But wouldn't you want to open up as many people as you can to SNL? Seeing a short, funny sketch might inspire people to start watching SNL again...just a thought.

There is my YouTube/NBC rant for the day.

Anna Wintour's Fashion "Editing"

September's Vogue is supposedly all about championing the hardships of the working (wo)man in the troubled economy. It has advice about how to shop on a budget, like mixing those super-affordable J Crew classics with Gucci boots. Hey, you could probably make an outfit for under $1000! Great.

American Vogue has faced some accusations in the past about only writing on advertiser's work. This claim was made all the more valid by a mention of EXPRESS legwear. Vogue has a typically Wolford-or-die attitude, so the mention puzzled me until two pages later there was a 3-page layout for EXPRESS. Coincidence?

How is this newsworthy?

In our perfect pitch session a few weeks ago we learned the 7 components of news. They are as follows:

1. Proximity
2. Timeliness
3. Human interest
4. Conflict
5. Eminence/Prominence
6. Consequence
7. Visuals

If a PR person were pitching a story about a new J Crew to the NYT, it might seem like a stretch to expect anything. After all, it's 1. A national company 2. Ongoing 3. Not that interesting 4. Conflict-free 5. Not important 6. Of no consequence to the nation and 7. Not that aesthetically interesting (unless you really like sweater racks).

BUT hey, sometimes a story gets an awesome placement for no apparent reason! Instead of envying this lucky PR professional, I like to see it as a sign: sometimes you never know what a phone call will get you.

Blog to Book

Is "I can has cheeseburger", i.e. LOLCats, all that's fit to print? Apparently so! "I can has cheeseburger", the blog famous for putting funny captions on cute animal pictures, has released a book. Now your cat-loving grandmother can experience the fun without having to deal with the internet.

Turning a blog into a book is a great idea to create revenue, and to insure that there will be a lasting copy of your content. In his 19th century novel Illusions Perdues, Balzac emphasizes the importance of developing a good binding system so that novels will live on after their contemporaries are gone. Now we have no physical copies of our most important neo-celeb writers, what will happen to Andrew Sullivan or Julia Allison when their days are over?

When You Need PR: Launching a New Brand

There are many times when you need PR, but the one I want to touch on is: launching a new brand/product.

When introducing a new product, you have three options:

1. Launch with advertising
2. Launch with PR
3. Do nothing and hope word-of-mouth carries the product name.

I'm assuming most brands/people won't do nothing, so we will focus on the first two.

Why advertising?

While I consider launching a new brand solely with advertising foolish, I completely understand the appeal. Their are many benefits to launching a brand with advertising:

1. You pick the outlet (TV, radio, print, online)
2. You control the content (control over print ads and commercials)
3. Guaranteed hits (You can get an accurate number of who has seen your ad)

Advertising is the safe route, NOT the effective route.

Why?

Advertising's major downfall is the lack of credibility. There is plenty of data to back this up, but lets go the common sense route. What do you think would be more effective, an ad for a new novel by a Nicholas Sparks or Oprah's endorsement of his new book? The answer is obvious.

Do you think anyone would take a new coffee shop seriously if it touted that it had 'the worlds greatest coffee'? Of course not. This was mocked by Will Ferrell's character in the movie Elf. When his character went ecstatic and congratulated the coffee shop on being 'the world's best' it drew laughs from the audience. They realized anyone can call themselves the 'world's best' and it seems outlandish that anyone would believe it, therefor laughter ensued.

But lets say that coffee shop mentioned above, received a review from The New York Times, verifying that it indeed, has some of the best coffee in the world. Would that not draw a significant amount of buzz? Much more than running a print ad in the Times with the same claim.

So if advertising isn't how you should launch a brand, why Public Relations?

In one word: credibility.

PR is riskier. You can't completely control the message, the timing, or that you will even get coverage. While these are disadvantages to take into account, the power of credibility outweighs all of them.

For the most part, people believe what they see or hear on TV, radio, blogs, and customer reviews. The more cluttered advertising becomes, the more likely consumers are to seek out a third-party for their opinion.

Laura Ries makes an excellent point in her book "The Fall of Advertising, and the Rise of PR":

"It's ironic that America's advertising agencies, the 'advertising builds brands' crowd, do almost no advertising themselves. Rather they depend heavily on PR to build their own brands. They deluge the trade presses, especially Advertising Age and Adweek, with samples of their work. No award, no matter how trivial, goes uncrowed....How can you believe in advertising for others if you don't believe in advertising for yourself?"

So if PR is significantly cheaper and more effective, why not?

Famous brands built by PR: Coca-Cola, Microsoft, Linux, Segway, Red Bull, Amazon, Ebay, and many more.

There is too much more information on this topic for one blog post. Much more to come..

(St.) Anger Gets The Best Of Metallica

A little over a week ago, Metallica was set to release their latest project Death Magnetic to the world. Despite their infamous battles with Napster, the band seemed to have a different understanding of leaked albums than before (Ulrich on the possibility of a leak, "If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days"). Kind of hard to believe after they destroyed Napster? I thought so too...

Metallica recently canceled an interview with a Sweedish publication after one of their reporters admitted to downloading it online. Apparently, the reporter like the downloaded version better than the released version; the copy he downloaded had been altered by an online user by trimming songs down to shorter, more potent lengths. The reviewer liked the trimmed versions better and said that is what the real album should have been like.

If Metallica is truly okay with album leaks and the iterations that come with that, they could have used this situation as an opportunity to start a conversation with the reporter and the fans. They could have asked, "why did you like the other version of the album?" or "what could we do different next time?" Even if Metallica still thinks their physical album is the best (which apparently they do), they can still interact with music fans (which is who this reporter is) and media in the appropriate way, especially since the album is doing very well. This kind of reaction to inevitable (and frankly, encouraged) situations will only continue to push away fans, many of whom now use media in every area of their life.

Perfect Pitch: How to be a Journalist's Best Friend

Even a "Cadillac pitch" the first time around doesn't work in this new changing age of print media. Yes, we all know print media is slowly deteriorating; calls to travel reporters and those assigned to tech beats confirm this. Perhaps a business reporter will have some decency and open up your e-mail, but you might want to think about using a pitch as a follow-up to an introduction.

Reporters have about five seconds to open an e-mail and decide from the lead if it's worth a read:

• Your subject line is the first thing a reporter will see (unless of course you decided to bcc those 500 people on your pitch list the same one-size-fits-all message that ends up in SPAM), so make it a praise to their most recent article. It's as simple as "Your CNN.com article, from XXX." Why does this work? Reporters love to hear about how great their stories are.
  
• There you have it--- that's your pitch. Next time, they will recognize you as someone who knows them, especially if you end your initial contact with "I'll keep an eye on your byline."

They are putty in your hands...

Bloggers Rage On the App Store

Since the opening of the App Store on July 11th, developers have had a long-standing feud with the App Store. The ambiguous terms of what is accepted into the App Store has many developers frustrated and annoyed with Apple.

This became a resurfacing issue today with Apples decision to reject a Podcaster App. The reason behind the rejection: "Since Podcaster assists in the distribution of podcasts, it duplicates the functionality of the Podcast section of iTunes." This isn't sitting too well with the developer and fellow developers.

Since the debut of the App Store, I have been hoping for a Podcaster App to come along and now I know why I haven't seen one. Apple needs to clearly define the terms for what is accepted and what isn't. Why did the "I am Rich" application make it, but useful ones like the Podcaster get rejected? You're better than that, Apple.

How Twitter Has Changed the KXAN Newsroom:

This is a really good post on how Twitter has changed how KXAN finds and delivers news.

Highlights of the blog post:

"Twitter helped us get the news to the masses in a new (and faster) way. The first indication that Twitter was an important part of our distribution of the news and how people are consuming media in different ways came in a very local way. The newsroom “tweeted” that a traffic jam on a local highway was the result of a car fire and in less than five minutes three people sent us photos of the car on fire. We then took that photo and placed it on our other platforms of media distribution (Televison/Internet) and it wasn’t until later that we realized the power of Twitter."

"Here’s what we did in the newsroom: We assigned people to post Twitter updates as soon as information was received. We searched out people on Twitter that were “Tweeting” from the area where the hurricane was to make landfall. We introduced ourselves and told them that we were going to follow them and tell the world what they were experiencing. In return, we promised to keep them informed when other forms of media failed. In other words, traditional media was asking the public to make our product better. They responded and did."

"The question for traditional media is how do we utilize tools such as Twitter to enhance and build our product? how do we embrace the “collective newsroom” and the changing ways in which people consume media? You can’t ignore it and hope it will go away, that barn door is opened and there is no going back. I, for one, am excited about how traditional media and social media are building bridges and responding to the changes in distribution channels. I don’t know what is next, but I know that people are engaged and they expect me to keep up."

When is Twittering Inappropriate?

This is a question that is being asked since last Wednesday when a reporter Tweeted updates of a young boys funeral.

The Tweets can still be read here. The last Tweet reads "family members shovel earth into grave." Understandably, the twittering of the funeral has unleashed a firestorm of backlash. It raises the question of: what is appropriate, and what should you not Tweet?

My thoughts:
This is something that should not have been included on Twitter. While many Tweets are pointless, (posts about what you had for lunch or the weather, for example) this mixes pointless and offensive. Common sense should tell you that if the online community is interested in this story, they will want to read an article about it that can give the topic some depth and understanding. Simple Twitter posts, like this, come off as it is just a casual tech convention. This is a time for family and friends to grieve. It is not a time give the play-by-play on how they are reacting in 140 characters or less.

Sensitive topics should be dealt with sensitively. Twitter isn't the platform for funeral updates. This may be narcissistic, but I don't believe anyone wants to read a Tweet like this one: "the father is sobbing over the casket. 'I loved him,' he says. others are sobbing." Use common sense when Twittering.

Newsflash: Employers Check Facebookk

This isn't really surprising or new information, but apparently more and more employers are checking Facebook profiles before hiring candidates.

Currently, 20% of employers check Facebook and another 9% plan on using Facebook to check out future employees.

My thought is: If candidates know their Facebook profiles are going to be looked at, why wouldn't they just create a fake account? Or I suppose the easier option would be to change your privacy options to limited.

Musicians always have the most creative marketing campaigns

Oasis have announced promotional plans for their new album.

From the article:
"The Manchester rockers announced they would unveil a handful of tracks from their forthcoming album by having street musicians perform them. The songs will be from their highly anticipated album Dig Out Your Soul, which is released in America on 7 October."

How great of an idea is that?

Second Microsoft Ad

Below is the full ad. Funnier than the first, but still no Vista mention. The whole point is to show Bill and Jerry connecting with ordinary people. Subliminal message being that Microsoft connects ordinary people. I don't know what to make of it. I'm not sure where they are going with it. Post your feedback to the ad below.

Friday Distraction

Anyone who has spent time in traffic will find this interesting. I still don't get why traffic jams happen. Anyways, enjoy this short vid.

Yammer: Twitter with a business model (pun intended)

TechCrunch50 announced Yammer as the winner of its start-up contest this week. As a moderate Twitter user, I felt compelled to give it a try. My thoughts:

- I'm impressed. A very simple idea, but brilliant. Exclusive Twitter type networks for companies. This is very beneficial for so many reasons.

- The live updating is a very cool feature. No constant refreshing of the page needed.

- No fail whales...so far at least. We will see when it becomes more popular.

- The exclusivity is a great feature.

Read more about it here.

The Good and The Great

When researching mom blogs I came across this entry by Jennifer James. It's funny to hear her pitching advice, because it's exactly the same thing we repeat over and over: target your audience. According to Jennifer, this is what separates the good from the great. Just goes to show that our axioms exist for a reason!

Killer Mention

NYT ran an article relating that most marriages succeed or fail based on money issues. So much for true love. The PR side of it is that Bear Stearns, a financial firm, gets a mention out of the blue. My guess is that someone in PR successfully pitched the story. How did they do it? Wouldn't we all love to know.

"I've got a fever...

and the only prescription is some more cowbell..."

Check out this entertaining site. You can upload any mp3 and then insert all the cowbell you can handle into it.

Ever wonder what The Ting Tings would sound like with cowbell? Of course you do. Check it out below.

	Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj

New Facebook Today

My first reaction to the "New Facebook" compared to the "Old Facebook": Meh. Nothing too special. Everything seems clumped into one pile in profiles now.

But, today marks the official release of the New Facebook. Users will be forced to switch over to the new Facebook by the end of the week.

After browsing around on the new Facebook, I'll admit that I enjoy it. I was a skeptic, but the new features won me over.

The feature that I love the most is the homepage. The different tabs make things a lot easier and clear up some of the clutter.


The tabs on the home page almost remind me of scrolling through different RSS feeds. I'm sure plenty of people will hate the new facebook, just as they hated the mini-feed. This is a step forward for Facebook. I'm going to embrace it.

Perfect Pitch: Hors d'oeuvres vs. Entrees

Yesterday's pitch seminar brought to you by co-mastermind of the Bad Pitch Blog Kevin Dugan and GeekFactory PR stud Peter Shankman touched on the topic of food portions. I have to say that hors d'oeuvres are a lot less filling than entrees, but in the case of pitching a reporter, they are just right.

Both Shankman and Dugan quipped about the number of PR professionals who simply don't get the fact that less is much, much more when it comes to phone calls, e-mails or blog responses. Particularly, they are referring to creating that initial contact with the reporter you so vehemently researched and targeted-- to reach your ultimate objective: build a relationship.

If you happened to miss yesterday's one hour help guide, here's the scoop:

• Build a list of your top 10 reporters and learn about them. That means read their bylines, tweet with them on Twitter, penetrate their blogs by comment

• Don't pitch until you damn well know it's interesting and helpful to their routine assignments

• Underpromise and overdeliver. Have the information, the interview sources ready and surprise them with an additional help tool they did not think of

• Those reporters you have targeted on your top 10 list will not necessarily be pitched on behalf of your client; rather, act as a source to tip reporters off to anything newsworthy

• Don't do fake or vague familiarity, such as telling the reporter you see they do a story on such and such... and then lead in with something completely off topic from the introduction. For example, "Hi Barbara, I saw that you recently did a story on how companies are using Twitter to increase hits on a microsite. Good work on that article! Anyway, I'm reaching out to you on behalf of my client that specializes in hair care products..." (Okay, that may be a stretch but you'd be surprised by the many flacks who still use this style).

• Lastly, don't be cutesy in e-mail subject lines. (A question I posed, was answered over the airwaves with a blunt "no").

On a completely other topic, has anyone had Assiette escargot?

It's The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

Today near Geneva, Switzerland, the world's largest particle accelerator was successfully tested. The Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is 17 miles long and cost about $5 billion, is being used to accelerate and collide particles together to study what the Big Bang would have been like.

Many are concerned about the negative effects of the science project. Scientists have suggested that the testing will create small black holes near the site; some say it spells doom and others say it will be no big deal. While the first tests have been successful, scientists say that it will take a few weeks to get the particles up to full speed. During the next few weeks, in case you are wondering if Europe has been sucked into a black hole, be sure to use the internet to your advantage. It has never been easier to get news updates as they happen; we can now receive news updates before CNN whether it is through Twitter, blogs, or other online communities.

Here is the best way to find out if we are still okay: Has The LHC Destroyed The Earth?

Modlife: The next MySpace for music?

The number one site for musicians and bands to promote themselves has to be MySpace. With over 100 million members, it is easy to see why it would be attractive: easy set-up, streaming music, large network of music fans, and ability to give instant blog updates.

But the MySpace brand is becoming tainted. It is spam heaven and is constantly mocked as a site for child predators. While it offers free promotion, the features are somewhat bland and don't offer bands a way to monetize their efforts.

Modlife is a revolutionary website for musicians.

It launched November 1st of 2007 with the online release of Angels & Airwaves album "I-Empire." Currently, the site boasts an impressive amount of features:

- Podcasting (Modcasts)
- Live chats/video chats with the bands (Modblast) and (Modcam)
- Tour videos
- Meet and Greet opportunities
- Streaming Music
- Video blogs
- News updates
- And a few other features

Below is a screenshot of the homepage.



How does it work?

The catch is that the content isn't free. The band that started Modlife.com (Angels & Airwaves) charge $6.99 a month for a subscription to their site. While this doesn't please some people, if a band you truly enjoy is on Modlife, the $6.99 is well worth it (it is 2 drinks at Starbucks a month).

I've been a member since the day the website launched and have had the privilege of: meeting AVA twice, enjoying daily content (either blog/videos/podcasts/video chats), and have watched Tom DeLonge take requests via "Modcam" and sing songs with his acoustic guitar.

Screen shot of blog below



The future of Modlife:

While only a few bands exist on Modlife at the moment, future plans are underway. According to blogs and Modcams, eventually Modlife will be open to the public. This means that anyone will be able to create a page and charge whatever they want for a subscription.

For the DIY bands, Modlife has to be very appealing. You have all the outlets for distribution right in front of you, condensed into one site. You control the content and set the prices; very appealing to bands.

While the launch of Modlife has been slow, keep in mind that all great brands and campaigns have had slow starts (Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Red Bull, etc.). The brands and campaigns that have been the most successful have taken off like an airplane, not a big bang (idea taken from Laura Ries).

Screenshot of Modblast below




Check out Modlife.com. At the moment, there is no other site like it.

Tom DeLonges introduction to Modlife:

Explanation of Microsoft and Seinfeld Commerical

The general consensus after the commercial was released online was: what are they thinking?, this commercial makes no sense, they don't even mention the product.

Initially, I thought it was a terrible ad, but I have taken a more optimistic view.

I think Microsoft wanted to get people talking. They wanted to create a buzz around the much hyped commercials. By releasing a commercial that comes off as completely irrelevant, they have sparked a discussion among people.

Deep down, I think Microsoft and Crispin+Porter have a bigger plan for Microsoft than churros and leather shoes. The first stage was to get the discussion going, the next stage will be to engage the product.

Collectively, the commercial has racked up over 1 million views and millions of dollars of free publicity. At least the coverage of the ad hasn't been lacking...

RSS Apple App

My favorite RSS reader from the App Store has to be Manifesto. I have tried a few other ones, including just the standard Google reader, but Manifesto is king so far.

- Very clean and organized App
- 3 different sections: Feeds, New, Flagged.

And the best feature:

When looking at a feed post, with the touch of one button, you can view the website version of the post. This is a very useful feature since a lot of feeds want you to visit the actual website, so you only get a preview of the post in the feed.

Overall rating: A-

Recap of "Let's Rock"

- New Nano and iPod Touch coming
- iTunes 8 is out.
- Firmware 2.1 will be released Friday. This will fix bugs, crashing, frozen apps, improve battery life, and so forth)
- NBC shows are coming back to the iTunes store. With the option of HD. (very smart considering The Office was the highest selling show)
- Jack Johnson played a few songs

For further info, read up here.

Apple "Let's Rock"

The event is going on now. Check out a live blog here. Coolest feature so far: shake iPod to shuffle songs.

Social Network Evolution

Social networking and video games have become more synonymous in recent years with the rise of X Box Live, World of Warcraft, and all the other online gaming experiences out there. Now the creators of the Sims have launch their newest game after four years in the making. Spore is an interactive "evolution" type game in which users evolve cells to become full grown organisms. As players grow and improve their organism, they will encounter other user-generated content online which they can interacted with. For example, as you grow big enough, there are different land masses where things can be built, different planets to be inhabited, and differnet objectives liketaking over a colony; in essence, users "play god" in an ever-changing environment.

Although the game has launched, makers of the game feel like the project has just began. The players of the game will largely determine the direction of Spore and which features to improve, drop, or totally reinvent. This model of video gaming isn't totally new, but really brings the power of the product to the people using it. Much like Twitter, a platform like this can be used in many different ways, creating a different experience for each person. As users find new needs within the platform, together they simply create what they want to see. The genious of evolving social networks is that ideally weak ideas die, strong ideas are created, and everyone wins.

New JJ Abrams Project

JJ Abrams, creator of Alias and LOST, debuts his newest project, Fringe, tonight on FOX. The new television program will combine Abrams usual favorite subjects of science and the supernatural, forcing the characters to deal with the collision of the two.

While Abrams has been known to create shows with extremely devoted followings, this time around, he is trying to make the show more accessible to viewers. While LOST fans will be lost if they miss a week or two, Fringe aims to help viewers enjoy the show without having to give it up if they miss an episode or feel left out if they haven't watched from the beginning.

Fringe airs tonight, September 9th on FOX at 8/7 CT.

Check out the movie-like trailer for the show:

Kit Kat Chunga: Great Campaign, but Will It Sell?

I love Kit Kat's new ad campaign "Kit Kat Chunga." Chunga is basically Jenga, but with Kit Kats instead. The five videos they have posted on YouTube are hilarious.

While it is a creative campaign, you have to keep in mind one question: will it sell Kit Kats?

Probably not. It will put the Kit Kat name back in the head of consumers, but I don't see it creating the desire to buy Kit Kats.

Anyways...check out one of the videos below:

Maybe They'll Be Able to Figure Out What "Poking" Is

On September 22, the government will launch a new social network site called A-Space (not to be confused with "The A-Space" for Anarchists). On this new site, military intelligence members will be able to share tips, trends, and leads in secret intelligence and information, as well as create profile pages much like on Facebook or MySpace. This platform will encourage cross-department thinking and collaboration in the fight against terrorism and tightening national security in the new age of social media networks.

Of course, A-Space will launch with the highest of security measures, but you better be sure that hackers will try for months to crack this nut. If the designers feel this safe about their security system, maybe they should give the New Facebook designers a few tips.

Facebook Users are Pro-Choice

...As in, they want the option of the "old-facebook" as well as the "new-facebook." The protest groups on Facebook have about 1 million members collectively.

I understand why Facebook wants to move everyone over to the new Facebook. It is probably a lot easier to have everyone under one system instead of divided into two. Especially for developing future plans for Facebook and rolling out new features. But users like consistency. They are comfortable with the old Facebook and don't want to relearn a social networking site.

Facebook should keep around the option of both new and old for at least a little while longer. At the same time, they should force new users to only be allowed to use the new Facebook so they won't have to end up switching. Eventually, I think Facebook has to be under one platform. It will be painful for some, but just like the Mini-Feed, they will come to embrace it.

Apple App of the Week: MarketingProfs

Why MarketingProfs? Solely because it is the only marketing application in the app store. It carries with it some insightful articles as well as some articles with obvious advice.

MarketingProfs has articles broken up into 8 categories:

- Latest
- Hottest
- Inspiration
- B2B Marketing
- New Media
- Email Marketing
- Buyer Insight
- Small Biz

It is definitely worth downloading if you are in the marketing field. It is a free app so you don't have much excuse not to...

Making a cause viral

Stand Up To Cancer has rolled out a slew of YouTube videos to raise awareness for cancer prevention. The videos themselves are well done, but it also doesn't hurt that they have a lot of big names behind them. My favorite video is with Larry David below.

Metallica change tune on music piracy

“Listen, we’re ten days from release. I mean, from here, we’re golden. If this thing leaks all over the world today or tomorrow, happy days. Happy days. Trust me. Ten days out and it hasn’t quote-unquote fallen off the truck yet? Everybody’s happy. It’s 2008 and it’s part of how it is these days, so it’s fine. We’re happy.”
- Lars Ulrich

This is interesting because Lars Ulrich led the crusade against Napster. He testified in court to Metallica losing millions of dollars from online downloading. Now it seems that he doesn't care.

Why the change of heart?


Essentially, a CD leaking makes for free publicity. If it leaks and people enjoy the album, they are going to let other people know. Most people were disappointed with Metallica's last release, so maybe Lars is hoping positive word-of-mouth will spread with this one...

Last night I noticed that the CD did leak, which isn't surprising since the release is only a little more than a week away.

How will CD sales do? This answer will probably be reflected in what fans think of the leak.