Social Media 101

Brian Solis has a good post today called “Defining Social Media” that should add to your knowledge base on the subject. The article also includes links to lots of other background.

Wall Street Journal Sale: It's Happening

As predicted below (damn I’m good ), the Bancroft family is getting close to selling the Journal to Rupert Murdoch. There’s plenty of coverage around the net, and especially in the Journal itself, but here’s a free New York Times link.
It’s playing out just as predicted: the Bancrofts are getting their “independent” editorial [...]

Turning Around Online Ratings

The Wall Street Journal had a good piece yesterday about the importance of online ratings for small businesses. Their lead anecdote is a great case study for what to do when you find that your ratings are low:

After looking up her spa for the first time on Yelp Inc., a popular Web site where urbanites [...]

Media Relations Insight from the New York Times

Yesterday’s New York Times Week in Review section featured two articles that shed light on the current state of media relations, though both involve offshore situations.

“My Time as a Hostage, and I’m a Business Reporter” — in which reporter David Barboza recounts his experience trying to do some reporting at a Chinese factory believed [...]

Pitching v. Participation

Steve Rubel has a good post today headlined, “The Future of PR is Participation, Not Pitching.”
You know where he’s coming from: the digital revolution is in high gear, so it’s high time for PR to amend its practices and become participatory pitchers, not smile-and-dial pitchers.
You should read it. Steve is as close to the headwaters [...]

How Do Bloggers Use News Content?

Sally Falkow is conducting an online survey to find out how bloggers actually use news releases and other news content. This is a key question that gets to the heart of your social media relations strategy, including what should be in a social media release.
So if you’re a blogger who uses news items, take the [...]

More Food for Thought on Second Life

There was a great deal of interest in Second Life at the Bulldog conference last week — those who got it (mainly presenters) talking to rapt audiences of those of us who don’t yet get it (virtually everyone else, me included).
I totally get that it’s a super-hot trend. I even get why companies and other [...]

Is Blogola PR's Problem?

I’m fast coming to the conclusion that blogola — giving bloggers the use of valuable stuff (like Nikon cameras) or exclusive access (like on-set access to a TV show) — is not PR’s problem.
I think Strumpette makes some spot-on points about the seaminess of the practice, but really, is it PR’s job to establish ethical [...]

Ketchum Survey: Traditional Media Still Dominant

Ketchum released the results of survey yesterday in PRSA’s PR Tactics newsletter that looked at some of what they considered current “myths” about communications, such as that “traditional media is dead” and “only blogs are relevant.” 1,500 people took the online survey, which was conducted in conjunction with USC’s Annenberg School of Communications. Some of [...]

Great Tips on Pitching Bloggers

Bulldog Reporter sends out a free email newsletter called Journalists Speak Out that’s full of useful PR tips (you can register at their site). In the issue that just hit my inbox, my good friend Brian Pittman interviews John Biggs, editor in chief of Crunch Gear, a leading tech gadget blog. Here are John’s excellent [...]

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