Social Media for Old People

Although, in my experience, there are an awful lot of young ones who don't know how to use any of this technology either.  So, the link is here.  Get started.

10 essential social media sites for college students

I guess most of these also translate for grad students, such as great tools on finding and comparing textbooks and internships...


Again, apologies for the paltry pace of posting.  Alliteration!  yay!

Cross-cultural fascination

So, just as a sidenote, this piece by James Fallows about a presentation he saw at SXSW had the most fascinating observations about the Chinese and social media/interaction:

•  No one uses voicemail. When some one calls you on your mobile phone, you generally pick it up. Mobile calls take precedence over face-to-face conversation, which is generally interrupted by a call. [Too many times to count, I have seen people take mobile-phone calls while giving a speech or presiding at a meeting. It's the norm, not something rude.]
  
  
• China uses SMS more intensively. SMS may have become entrenched because of the low cost of sending text messages. The first thing Chinese do in the morning is check their IM first, not their email. [Though, this assumes they turned off the phone at night!]
  
  
• Instant messaging, combined with SMS, is a hugely popular means of communication. China's leading IM platform, QQ (Company: Tencent (HK:0700)), has 350 mm users-over 50 times the audience of Twitter! [Two days ago on the Beijing subway, I counted 25 people in the same car as me all typing out or reading text messages and only two actually talking on the phone. Also, you're never out of mobile-phone coverage in China -- on subways, in elevators, wherever. Discussion of reasons some other time.]
  
  
• Only 56% of all Chinese internet users have email addresses. [If you want to reach a busy American, you send email to the Blackberry. That gets you nowhere here.]
  
  
• Ownership of PCs is much lower, especially in 2nd and 3rd tier cities, where heavy PC usage is at Internet cafes.
  
  
• Unlike the West, where e-commerce was Web 1.0 and social media is Web 2.0, China's internet usage started as a social phenomenon first and is just now moving to more utilitarian purposes.

EAT IT SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE!

Oh my god, our program won a major award from PR Week's annual gala.  Education Program of the Year!  This, on some level, compensates for NYU being looked over in the BCS championship this year.
Mad props to Ming Lee and John Doorley and to the program in general.  A photo as below:

Oh, Hello Nerds

What's that?  You tire of making index cards by hand, like a CAVEMAN?
Well, via Lifehacker, here's your free solution, Cramberry! 

Your GPA will thank me.

Principles of Surviving Social Media Revolution

Muhammad Saleem of Mashable takes the example of Hulu removing, without notice, seasons of It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and its subsequent response to the rabid uproar from fans of the show and distills 5 universal truths from their success
Lesson #1: Communicate Even If You Have Nothing to Say
Lesson #2: Be Forthright
Lesson #3: Make It Clear That You’re Listening
Lesson #4: Acknowledge Your Mistakes
Lesson #5: Promise to Learn and Improve - Then Deliver

This mirrors a lot of fundamental lessons taught by our program but it's always interesting to see it personified in 2.0 cases.

Of course, you should click through to read the article and the specifics, but I thought even in summary, it was interesting.

Kinda funny essay by Michael Pinto, who is rather cynical re: Social Media Experts

He wrote a post entitled, Social Media "Experts" are the Cancer of Twitter (and Must Be Stopped).  I feel him, I really do, and I think it's kinda funny to express that skepticism using the metaphor of zombies but it's also rather clear that Pinto himself is highly integrated into the web culture (he is using footage of a videogame that I can't name but remember was big in college with nerd-folk)(PS I'm only pretending not to know the name of the game). 
Here's the thing though:  He is probably both web-savvy enough to be able to pick out rather fraudulent players in the game but, also, he is probably in no need of any counsel as he probably has a great level of expertise.  For example, his post was on the front page of Digg.  Meaning he's immune both to the less reputable trickery and immune from even the more expert advice.  I'm sure he could be hired out as a Social Media "Expert" as well. It's just clear he doesn't wish to be.  There's an under-estimation, however, on his part as to just how not clued-in the vast majority of the populace is.

Ugh...Maybe you shouldn't be doing your own community outreach

From the Consumerist comes the following exchange between the Director of Regional Operations for the Western United States for Petland and protesters incensed about their using disreputable puppy mills.

From: Chris Beth [mailto:cbeth@petland.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 5:41 PM
To: jjpippin@sbcglobal.net
Subject: Petland Plano

Dr. Pippin,
I was at the Plano store last Saturday when you all were there. I
just wanted to thank you for being there! We had so many people tell us that they did not see us located there and your people drew them into the store.

I was actually wondering if you could be there both days on the weekend and maybe Fridays?

Thanks again,

Christopher Beth
Director of Regional Operations - Western US
Petland, Inc.
—-——-——-——-——-——-——-—
From: jjpippin [mailto:jjpippin@sbcglobal.net]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:35 PM
To: 'Chris Beth'
Subject: RE: Petland Plano

Ha ha, that's very good Mr. Beth. We see the traffic at your store every Saturday, so please stop with the amateur reverse psychology.

Let's just see how this works out, shall we? We're in this for the long haul.

John J. Pippin, M.D.
—-—Original Message—-—
From: Chris Beth [mailto:cbeth@petland.com]
Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:54 PM
To: 'jjpippin'
Subject: RE: Petland Plano

Dr. Pippin,

Ha, ha? I wasn't kidding. Unless you are watching the traffic all
other times of the week you certainly could not quantify the results of your presence like my stores door counters record. Regardless, we sold two puppies while you were there. One Westie and one Beagle.

We are also in it for the long haul, Dr. Pippin. The last 41 years of us being in business has not been by fluke.

Best Regards,

Christopher Beth
Petland


I guess this counts as engagement but, man, don't have to be obtuse about it...

Way of the Future. Via Himler

PR Newser has been running an interesting series on predictions for PR in the coming year.  Most I've rather discounted but the one they reviewed by Peter Himler, who I find to be interesting, strike me as rather omniscient. My summary, which won't do it justice:

• Further adoption of technical know-how from PR pros
• A continuation of convergence between bloggers and journalists
• Traction on social media will continue to be elusive
• More willingness on behalf of corporations to encourage genuine user-generated content
  

China's New PR Initiative

China has, according to the excellent reportage of James Fallows, announced that it will be investing over $6 billion in an effort to articulate China to the rest of the world.  Chinese institutions often have trouble explaining themselves or miss on cultural nuances, so it's a most worthy investment and one, I think, that speaks to the principles of our PRCC program: That no matter the message, it's clear articulation and honesty that should be the first step in engagement.

I would also like to say that there have been several students in the program that are Chinese and intelligent and would be great candidates for these initiatives.

Quick, outdated hits

• Brian Solis on adapting the field of Crisis Communications to the web
• The Generation Y guide to Web 2.0 at work (funny, for a PR type)
• Shel Holtz on whether or not PR and Social Media are yet on footing capable of handling each other.
  

Is social media your resume?

Zoe Erdos has an interesting piece about the job hunt in which she, to simplify her argument, points out that the judgment of your character and ability is no longer relegated to a one sheet summary of your accomplishments in the form of a resume. 

Instead, just as significantly, this impression is made through your presence on social media networks.  So, the argument becomes does the prospective employee just start accounts to have them and therefore make their presence known or do they engage in the networks in a fashion that genuinely reflects themselves?
Either way, again, I implore you, join them.

To the social media holdouts in rareified air

Bite the bullet already.  You need to learn this stuff even for the most basic of Media Relations and pitches.  "I'm not a computer person" just doesn't suffice anymore.  Of course, if you're in this demographic, you're probably not reading a "weblog" anyways, but still...

PR Newser points to an amazing study pointing out that nearly half of all Journalists use Facebook and LinkedIn to assist in reporting.  If you are to engage these reporters, you'll need to be familiar with their territory.

The social media effect on PR

Just as we questioned the value of a master's last spring, The Horn Group in SF gathered a bunch of professionals to ask if social media is killing the entire PR practice. A bit extreme, but still an interesting question and certainly relevant to ask. It's essential to question your value on an ongoing basis, especially in this climate.

Of course the event itself drew a ton of coverage through twitter and the like which has since kept the conversation going. A strong argument can be made that social media only creates more noise and short term tactical success for an organization, if successful at all. Generating publicity or web traffic through social media is only a small piece.

Our own Toni Falconi's blog, PR Conversations, collectively interviewed James Grunig on his thoughts on social media, which he sees fitting into his two-way communication model. The interview continues onto a lively discussion in the comments. It's lengthy, but well worth reading.

Did someone say Survey?

Then someone might as well have said fun!
Stuart Bruce has created a survey to ask the general public/PR world if they think PR degrees are worth it.
I fully encourage all readers of this blog to take the survey, and hence ensure that there are ones of responses!

PR Stunts Make You Fat

First and foremost, I hope you have voted, plan to vote, did the absentee thang, have a rocking excuse (being lazy is not one of those), or are on line to vote right now!

Second, beware of the calories on the following PR moves, but kudos to the brainpower capitalizing on a politically charged day.

Ben&Jerry’s
Go to participating scoop shops today from 5:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m., and you'll get a free scoop of ice cream.

Starbucks
Starbucks said they expect to hand out "hundreds of thousands" of free tall coffees to those who have voted.

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts
Voters get a star shaped patriotic sprinkled extravaganza.

P.S. Yes, your vote does count.

Quick hit: Just go talk instead of emailing

If anyone is guilty of this it's me.  Although, in my case, I use email because I like to have a written record of the conversation I will inevitably forget later on:
Emailing colleagues, even when they're sitting just a few metres away – feels safer for two reasons: you have the protective bubble of a time delay, allowing you to think up a sensible, appropriate reply. And you get to limit their possible responses. While a conversation can flow almost anywhere, emails can be directed, thus limiting the possibility you'll say something worthy of mockery.

And yet ... it can be very easy to misread the tone of an email in a way that real conversation doesn't usually allow.

Make the most of your academic experience

We're always looking for contributors to this blog and while it is certainly not the end-all be-all in terms of web experience, it will at least help you experience and begin to digest the future of the field. A note from today's Read/Write web report:

"Social media consultants, expert practitioners with multiple years of success in the kinds of positions discussed above and in some cases in traditional marketing jobs, are the ones making the most money.

No one we surveyed named an hourly consulting rate below $150 per hour. $300 per hour was the most common rate named. Some listed monthly rates of $2k to $4k per engagement, which we assume probably means 20 to 40 hours per month.

Social media (or in many cases Search Engine Optimization) consulting is probably making a fair number of people six figures. What are these people doing? They are advising companies on how to set up and run blogs, how to reach out to and relate to bloggers, how to use Twitter (seriously) and how to make advanced use of RSS. The SEO work is probably the most technical, but degrees of technical challenge are all relative. A lot of this work is about communication skills.

It's a new world online and people with experience succeeding in it are widely sought-after by businesses wanting to catch up fast. There's a nearly bottomless need for and a strong demand for high-quality social media consulting - the big challenge is bridging the gap between living a Web 2.0 life and reaching out effectively to people.

We believe there are a fair number of snake-oil salespeople in the social media consulting field as well, but we didn't survey any of those people."

So, don't be one of those snake-oil salesman. Post and engage for the program and learn little by little for the field that can eventually help you understand the emerging technologies.

Quick Hit: HARO vs. ProfNet

Interesting interview with Andrew Adam Newman about his Adweek article on Help A Reporter Out vs. ProfNet.

In my book, HARO wins because of the obvious - it is free - and ProfNet's exorbitant subscription fee can unfortunately be budget restrictive. Oddly, this was featured in Adweek, not PR Week.

Strategy, Tactics

There's always a lot of discussion in some of our earlier classes about Strategy v. Tactics and which guides whom, etc. I think a lot of it boils down to inconsistency in definition and hence, we get hung up on semantics.

In the class with Fred Garcia re: Strategic Communications, he often mentions the book Fiasco, whose central themes involve strategy and tactics, this time in the context of the planning and execution of the most recent occupation in Iraq.

The comparison has entered the dialogue because of John McCain's assertion that Obama didn't understand the difference between tactics and strategy. In the context of the war, who knows...
However, in the context of running this campaign, as James Fallows points out, it's McCain who has been ever-reliant on tactics and eschewed an overall "strategy":
McCain's dismissive comment suggests that he still does not realize this.

Some examples are so familiar as to need no explanation: McCain choosing the ten-day tactical "bounce" from the surprise choice of Sarah Palin, in exchange for the enormous strategic risk in choosing an un-vetted and now obviously unqualified running mate. Or McCain rolling the dice with his threat to boycott the debate -- and then, once on stage, appearing to be only mildly interested in the financial-bailout deal that 72 hours earlier was the stated reason for overturning all agreements about the debates .

Fallows later goes on to discuss (via a reader) the difference in terms of a military jargon:
A good analogy to explain military strategy is a stool with three legs: goals (mission); means (concept of operation); and resources (people and equipment). If the legs are not balanced, you have an unbalanced stool, increasing the likelihood of failure.

The surge added troops (resources) to carry out the counterinsurgency mission of defeating the insurgents and establishing enough stability so that the Iraqis themselves could develop the means of controlling the violence.

The final goal (grand strategy as distinguished from military strategy) is the emergence of a fully functioning Iraqi state friendly to the US. Military strategy must support that goal. The primary means (concept of operation) in the military strategy was to station small units among the Iraqis rather than in large Forward Operating Bases; cordon off the neighborhoods of Baghdad with cement walls; co-opt the Sunnis by paying them to fight al Qaeda in Iraq; and winning the hearts and minds of the population that tolerated and supported insurgents (dry up the sea in which the insurgents found nourishment). His continued stating that the surge was a strategy is inexplicable.

Finally, many factors unrelated to a preceding the surge led to the reduction in violence. For example, the decision of Sunni tribal leaders to eliminate al Qaeda in Iraq by cooperating with the US for personal reasons and money; the completed ethnic cleansing of neighborhoods in Baghdad; and Sadr's truce with the US, among others

So, in essence, if we are looking to standardize the usage of these terms in our program, perhaps it is best to conform our definitions to the usage above.

How are people getting through?

A sprinkling of today's headlines:

JPMorgan buys WaMu
Biden 'to be replaced by Hillary' on Obama ticket

Op-Art

Bailout Talks to Resume After Impasse

With the headlines exploding this morning - literally - I want to know how people are getting through to the clutter?

Things to do on your student salary

Hi,
Just a quick cross-posting:
It's free Museum day on the 27th for all Smithsonian related museums and there are several gems in the NY area.
I've cross-posted a breakdown of several of note in my other blog that has nothing to do with school.
If you're in NY and new to it and you have no money and are interested in, well, things, this is a good opportunity.

Oh Good! The Left is Catching Up in the Sleaze Game! America huzzah!

People who monitor this sort of thing have noticed that chain emails making completely unsubstantiated claims have now become prominent on the Left.  Previously they were the provenance of the Right. As the child of someone who receives various emails from family members who, in succession, forward me correspondence assuring me that Obama is both a muslim and, then without any hint of irony, that his christian pastorisgoingtoeatusallbecauseheyellsalot I guess I can say that's progress.  But not really.

As a sidenote, what am I, a Bob Garfield groupie?

On Duplicity and Morals

I have found the Ethics course taught by Fred Garcia to be among the most thought-provoking within or without the program.
However, the lesson I walked away with was that mendacity, even in the aims of morality, was never worth engaging in.
However, in Jennet Conant's new book, The Irregulars: Roald Dahl and the British Spy Ring in Wartime Washington, celebrities and great minds were enlisted to either propogandize or lie on behalf of the Allies, depending on your viewpoint.
For instance, as during this interview with Brooke Gladstone, she tells this story:
They came up with this idea of forging a map that would be a Nazi map. This would show that his was the Nazis’ plan to take over part ofSouth America. They'd planted it and then they leaked the fact that there might be something going on there to the FBI. The FBI raided the place, found the map, and this prize was then passed all the way up thechain, and Roosevelt talked about it in a very famous speech. They sort of got away with it and nobody quite pinned the tail on the donkey.

I think it's pretty hard to argue with the cause but would you be willing to lie like this?

A Whole New World

Read Brave New World of Digital Intimacy and hear what I've been thinking for a long time on status updates. And then let's discuss how to infiltrate individual "micro blogging" as another medium for the message. Peace.

The On the Media episode for the last week of August was as illuminating as ever and topical in the wake of the discussion of race in the United States. Professor Tony Greenwald is interviewed by Brooke Gladstone about the Implicit Association Test:

Here’s how the test works. On a computer you are asked to place, quickly as you can, positive words, like “love” or “success” next to black faces, and negative words, like “agony” or “failure” next to white faces. Then you are asked to switch negative for positive, white for black. Your reaction time is then measured. If your reaction time is shorter when you, say, match the positive words with the white faces, that’s your natural association.

Over and over, millions of times, the test demonstrates hidden biases when it comes to not just race but age, weight, gender, etc. University of Washington psychologist Tony Greenwald created the Implicit Association Test

There are so many fascinating insights from this interview. It explores the question of whether the media drives the culture or just reflects it. It has implications both for policy rollout and for unconcious assocations in general.

I'm amazed that no firm or institute has started a solid think tank to explore just these questions. At any rate, I would suggest clicking through to read about this experiment in depth or just listen below

Quick Hit: Illustration of Social Media

The hot buzzword that people seem to like using today and not fully understanding is "social media". Hence, via Drew Benvie via Brian Solis, a map:

A quick comment on an ad from this morning's AM New York

There's something to be said for a catchy line or a hook. However, with certain sensitive fields, I'm not sure you need one.
For instance, if you're advertising McDonald's, "I'm loving it" is fine as a catch phrase.
However, if you're offering abortion, I'm not sure much more is needed than a generally serious tone and maybe brief contact info and qualifications.
Enter this ad from this morning's AM New York:

Is that line really necessary? Is this really the reputation this medical office is going after?

John Bell's take on the essential skills of the future

I was originally going to write something about this but looking at it I think it can just be presented without comment:

1. Create integrated marketing and communications strategy



2. Deploy live 'listening posts' online and offline



3. Design and deploy an advanced search engine optimization program



4. Plan and run a new media relations program inclusive of head-of-the-tail and long tail "media"



5. Identify & engage with influencers online and offline



6. Manage communities



7. Integrate new technologies into their own lives



8. Model measurement and performance metrics including new "engagement" metrics



9. Run quick pilot programs and evaluate on-the-fly



10. Train staff and clients continuously



11. Participate in conversations, not just 'messaging'



12. Create and execute content strategy including video programming (hifi and lowfi)



13. Use digital crisis management

Actually, a Follow-Up to Rubel's Treatise on Pitching

I linked to it quickly last night but I think his observations are so telling of the future for the industry not just in terms of Tech PR but for the field as a whole that I'm just going to delve a little bit further.

Essentially, he voices the complaint that any astute reader of the PR blogosphere has by now absorbed, that the volume of pitches are just too overwhelming to respond to. He complains of literally not having a chance to even decline most pitches and that most of these pitches simply aren't palatable regardless of product.

He then drops this fascinating and true nugget: "It's my view that increasingly, bloggers (and maybe journos too) simply don't want our help. Many bloggers - particularly those who cover tech - love to discover new things and experience them on their own, unaided by PR."
This leads him to conclude that perhaps pitching is broken.

Then Michael Arrington weighs in on the matter:

"They’re (PR folks) trying to apply the same rules they used when the number of journalists covering their companies was a manageable, chummy lot. Today there’s a whole spectrum of people writing about startups in big media publications, large and small blogs, Twitter, Friendfeed and everything in between.

Most PR folks don’t read blogs and certainly don’t understand them. All they see is a Google alert with their clients name, and rush to put out a fire. Down the road they may try to bring those bloggers into the fold, largely relying on word of mouth as to the best way to approach them in lieu of actually reading the blog itself."

All of which is entirely true HOWEVER then Arrington has this observation: "So back to practical advice: what do you do if you’re a startup looking for help in getting the word out about your company? First off, don’t hire PR help until the volume of inbound requests by press are simply too much to handle without help. That’s way down the line for most companies."

I certainly understand where he is coming from. He has reached this conclusion because he feels there is no need to hire someone in the function of a PR person if that function is to solely send out email pitches or emails. However, there must be innovative firms out there who can devise pitching strategies that incorporate emerging technologies (be it by utilizing friendfeed or optimizing feedly or using twitter, or whatever next week's meme is) and if so, don't these innovative firms essentially fill the role that the traditional forebearers did?

Anyways, Peter Himler picks up the discussion...

Oprah or Iowa?

Who does Obama owe his nomination to? According to two economists from the University of Maryland, it's Oprah. Over the past year they've studied the role of celebrity endorsements during the 2008 Democratic election. More specifically, they cross checked the Oprah subscription lists with those who voted for Barack Obama during the primaries and found a highly unlikely random relationship between the two. Upwards of one million names appeared on both of those lists (approximately one third of an actual percent of the U.S. population).

The opposition presents a stronger case pointing to the Iowa caucus, also citing many of those individuals would have voted for him regardless of her approval. Celebrity endorsements have been studied in past elections, and while high profile names bring attention to voting and individual candidates, they do not always translate into votes. As far as high wattage celebrities go, the Oprah endorsement could have gotten people out to the primaries that may have never even voted in an election before.

If John Edwards had scandalized himself sooner or not run at all, the outcome would likely have been different at this point. Can someone please book Hillary Clinton on Ellen DeGeneres before the DNC? If the core Oprah demographic and avid book club readers turn out again in November, there may be a talk show host as the VP candidate.

Pitching is broken not dead

Um, in lieu of just copy-pasting Steve Rubel's latest prescient observation into the field, journalism, and society in general, you should probably just read it.

Keep this in mind in dealing with "old media"

a- sorry about not posting in awhile. blahblah whinewhine.
b-The Edwards affair appears to finally be the kick in the pants the established media firms needed to affirm that their practices need to change (You're dead to them, Judy Miller and the Iraq War). The newspaper industry, starving for readers and advertisers, missed what turned out to be a legitimate story (from a fairly unreliable source) that could have proved a bonanza for them.

So what lessons does it look like the media are going to take from this debacle? From the Newshour with Jim Lehrer (on this occasion hosted by the much more informative Gwen Ifill)
RICK THAMES: I think there are two lessons here for
mainstream media. And one is, of course, one that I think that we are
quite aware of, and that is that we're no longer the gate-keepers.
Sometimes now, when rumor arises, we're going to need to address it.

And it's true. From now on, even legitimate news organizations are going to be a lot less reticent to report on rumors, which is going to make some of your jobs a lot harder. Me? I work at a desk at a University. Won't make a feather of a difference.