eriksr on September 2nd, 2008
So, yeah, okay, like what’s the point of social media?
I mean, we are so busy rushing around and doing it that we never stop, take a look at ourselves, and see if we are actually accomplishing anything of value.
Well, those days are about to end. And they are about to end with a book called “Now is Gone: A Primer on New Media for Executives and Entrepreneurs” by Geoff Livingston and Brian Solis.
Read the rest of this entry »
eriksr on August 14th, 2008
Brian Solis just wrote about MicroPR, an effort that combines Twitter like brevity with public communication. He and Stowe Boyd came up with it, apparently, after Boyd successfully determined that he prefers to be pitched via Twitter.
Here’s a link.
All I can say is: Wow. Great idea. Pitching in the clear is an interesting concept. The catch, of course, is that no PR person in their right mind will share information of value to competitors of their clients…and reporters sometimes don’t want to share what they are writing about.
I totally agree that this will force PR pros to focus on the key details and not the useless buzzwords and crap that litter frequent communications. But again, will the need for secrecy kill MicroPR? And will a critical mass of journalists and bloggers opt into this?
I love the idea, but I think it is ahead of its time. Regardless, in their own words, here’s how it works:
Examples of usage:
Journalists and bloggers can declare that they do or do not want to be pitched via Twitter and other micromedia tools. They can also announce their specific preferences for contact.
Reporters looking for help with on story development can send a tweet, “@micropr Need startup recommendations for story on new micromedia tools. Reply via public tweet to @reportername” (112 characters).
A writer can share relevant beats @micropr beats = #social #micromedia #networks #media #infrastructure #hosting.
They could declare what sorts of microPR they want (or don’t want) to receive, and in what mode — @public messages or direct/private.
Other services could include scheduling calls and or meetings, etc.
Conference and awards organizers can call for speakers or submissions.
Media can also block certain PR people who are doing it wrong.
eriksr on July 21st, 2008
Hot on the heels of my rant about Technorati…okay, not on the heels at all, but let’s pretend, yeah? Comes word from Kristen Nicole at Mashable that Blogged.com has added blog article search to its repertoire.
This excited me. I recently gave up on using Technorati to identify influential bloggers and thought, yay, a potential replacement. Alas, it’s not meant to be. Read the rest of this entry »
eriksr on July 7th, 2008
I’ve had it. Technorati, you need a reboot and you need one yesterday. You’re slow. You time out constantly. Your search results make no sense whatsoever! Your authority …algorithm? Is that what it is? I have no idea, because whatever it is, it seems to have no basis in reality. And can we talk about the spam that shows up in results?
You’ll all forgive me for complaining about something that comes to me for free, but if you’re going to do something, you may as well do it right. Ever since Technorati made that major update (or was it the executives fleeing a sinking ship?) to its site — what, one year ago? one and a half? — performance and reliability has gone down the toilet and stayed there.
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eriksr on April 11th, 2007
Note: The posting schedule has been moved around a tad, so here’s part two of Podcasting 101 — look for the digital media resource collection Friday
In my last entry, you learned what a podcast was is, how it works, and how it can be of use in PR. Today, we will look at how you go about developing your podcast, software to help you create your podcast, and directories to help you promote your podcast. 
Five key steps to creating podcasts
1. Revisit your PR plan
Does a podcast fit in with your messaging strategy? Do you have the time and resources to do this? No strategic fit, no resources = no podcast. Good strategic fit + resources = podcast.
2. Plan to succeed
Figure out your tactics. What is your key message? How often will you podcast? How will you arrange for podcast production? Who is responsible for what, both client-side and firm-side? What will be the format? What content will you have? How long will the podcast be? And so on.
3. Differentiate
What competing podcasts are out there? Visit the podcast directories, listed below, and see who your competition is. Then figure out how you will differentiate.
4. Play nicely with others
Want to use content, including interviews and music, from another source? Get approval. Want guests on your podcast, such as guest speakers or people you will interview? Contact them and book time.
5. Produce
Have at least 5 podcasts in the bag before you go live. This gives you a chance to deal with the inevitable first time errors before you commit to a schedule.
I pod, you pod, we all pod
Now that you know how to create a podcast, you need software to help you do so. Three worth looking into are:
Podcast shout
Of course, your podcast won’t do you any good if no one know it exists. The solution? List it on podcast directories. Here are three to get you started:
- Podcast Bunker. They limit their list only to those that they believe are the very best, so it is of some value to make it to this list.
- Podcasting Station. This directory allows visitors to perform handy podcast topic searches.
- Podcasting News. More extensive than Podcasting Station, podcasts are also sorted by topic.
eriksr on April 5th, 2007
Note: Today’s image comes from Flickr user Jeremy K. Please support your local Humane Society or the SPCA
Quick one today. I was on the verge of writing a lengthy, detailed entry on Flickr (really!) but Josh Lowensohn over at Webware did a perfectly good job not too long ago. If you want to find out everything there is to know about Flickr, click here.
There are plenty of reasons why you should consider using Flickr as part of an overall PR campaign, or just for your firm. Now, I could rattle off a list for you…or I could point you to a couple of Kevin Dugan’s entries on “Flickr Hacks” that sum things up beautifully:
- “10 Flickr Hacks”: Highlights include using Flickr as a means of getting high-resolution images to influencers — as opposed to using Email — and posting shots of life in the firm to serve as a recruitment tool. Hey HR people — take note!
- “10 More Flickr hacks”: Fewer ideas here strictly for the PR professional here, but an excellent and enlightening read nonetheless.
