The changing world of “media” relations…

If you viewed Jon Snow’s talk you’ll know that he gave a fascinating insight into the changes that have taken place in the media over the past couple of decades.

Of course it continues apace.

I haven’t seen a lot of noise in the PR blogosphere on this, but I thought Facebook’s set up of TechCrunch was certainly unique.

So we’ve had our fun with Facebook over the years (Why We’re Suing Facebook For $25 Million In Statutory Damages, Republican PR Director Calls Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg “totally full of sh*t”, Randi Threatens a Bar Bouncer). But in general these things are supposed to flow one way – we mess with them, they take it gracefully.

Today that changed. They punk’d us, and we fell for it. Hard.

Writer Jason Kincaid noticed a new link “Fax this photo” on his Facebook page.  So he contacted Facebook, got no reply and posted a story on the new “feature”. 

But here’s the catch… the “feature” only appeared to members of the TechCrunch network. 

It was a set up.

Jason then called Facebook PR. Jaime Schopflin took the call and, apparently, couldn’t stop laughing for five minutes. Between laughs while catching her breath she mentioned something about this being a joke, that nobody but us could see it, and that they were placing bets around the office on how long before we noticed it and posted. And something else about teaching us to contact them before posting.

It certainly is unique….

Update:

The changing world of “media” relations…

If you viewed Jon Snow’s talk you’ll know that he gave a fascinating insight into the changes that have taken place in the media over the past couple of decades.

Of course it continues apace.

I haven’t seen a lot of noise in the PR blogosphere on this, but I thought Facebook’s set up of TechCrunch was certainly unique.

So we’ve had our fun with Facebook over the years (Why We’re Suing Facebook For $25 Million In Statutory Damages, Republican PR Director Calls Facebook’s Randi Zuckerberg “totally full of sh*t”, Randi Threatens a Bar Bouncer). But in general these things are supposed to flow one way – we mess with them, they take it gracefully.

Today that changed. They punk’d us, and we fell for it. Hard.

Writer Jason Kincaid noticed a new link “Fax this photo” on his Facebook page.  So he contacted Facebook, got no reply and posted a story on the new “feature”. 

But here’s the catch… the “feature” only appeared to members of the TechCrunch network. 

It was a set up.

Jason then called Facebook PR. Jaime Schopflin took the call and, apparently, couldn’t stop laughing for five minutes. Between laughs while catching her breath she mentioned something about this being a joke, that nobody but us could see it, and that they were placing bets around the office on how long before we noticed it and posted. And something else about teaching us to contact them before posting.

It certainly is unique….

Update:

What’s the impact of new media?

If you live in the UK and Ireland, you know Jon Snow, the popular UK journalist and broadcaster very well.

During a recent visit to Ireland, the Institute of International and European Affairs hosted Jon for a talk he gave on the impact of new media.

He discusses his start in the media business and just how much things have changed over the years, and it’s not just about social media!

He bases his talk on how the three Ps have changed:

  • Process
  • Product
  • Profit

Recommended viewing regardless of your location.

Link courtesy of Piaras Kelly.

Are you lifestreaming or is that your dad dancing?

At the risk of appearing (to the digerati at any rate) as something resembling a father dancing at his teenager’s party, can I ask a question?

The question concerns the current online nom-de-jour: “lifestreaming”.  Now stop me if I’m wrong here – and it wouldn’t be the first time – but a Lifestream is just a blog with more stuff on it. 

Is that correct? 

I mean, seriously, all we’re talking about is a blog (or in 1990s parlance a “web site”) with content aggregated from a host of different sources such as Twitter or Friendfeed or whatever you are having yourself.

So in essence a lifestream is just a blog with more stuff, right? A blog. A blog with more stuff.

Maybe I’m missing something.

Sometimes I really am amazed at our continuing need to re-name things to make them sound like they are far more important than they are… this affliction is often most acute when it comes to social media.

I mean, this piece from Business Week on Gordon Bell (from Microsoft Research) is more how I think of a Lifestream.

In the meantime, I think we’d all be better advised to focus on understanding how social media can positively impact our business.

Maybe I’m getting old, then again I’ve eight or nine years before I mortify my son at his party.

Don’t forget the local impact

When we think about how companies are using social media, we typically look at the big players, but I love to hear how small, local companies are using it.  I find it’s a great way to get my tired brain firing on how I think about the potential of social media.

I was in downtown Seattle for a number of meetings this morning and I found out how a small local coffee shop (it’s not a chain!) is on Twitter, and each time a batch of warm chocolate chip cookies emerges from the oven, they tweet about it. 

The interesting thing is that as soon as that tweet goes out, you can see a stream of people from the surrounding offices heading directly to the shop.  Now that’s a real world commercial and local use of social media!

There’s been a lot of discussion on how the internet has supported globalization.  It’s something that we all know has impacted how we think about communications.  However, keep an eye on the local impact of the internet, it could be something we start spending a lot more time thinking about from a PR perspective.

PR Miscellany – September 1 2009

A post containing some interesting PR-related content that I’ve stumbled upon…

Do you have your PR skills?

Dave Fleets offers 14 key skills for “new” PR professionals (via Neville Hobson) and thankfully he does point out that just because there are some new skills required doesn’t mean we should neglect the traditional skills.  I’m a firm advocate of the importance of mastering the basics.

Yes, there’s a new game to play (in my opinion), but the old game is still there too. PR pros still need the basic attributes and skills that they’ve always needed.  Try launching something using social media alone and you’ll appreciate the gap that traditional media can leave if it’s lacking.

Stop (PR) thief

Another interesting court case involving a PR person who (may has/allegedly has) exercised poor poor judgement. Like, really poor judgement, in fact I’m not sure we should use the word “judgement”.

 

Blogging about (business) blogging

Ragan offers ten tips for a better business blog.

Ford Motor Company doesn’t have a blog, but its director of new media, Scott Monty, has one—The Social Media Marketing Blog. It precedes Monty’s tenure at Ford, which means it has an audience and a solid reputation.

On occasion, The Social Media Marketing Blog addresses issues at Ford. It spreads news about the company and the CEO, and provides a behind-the-scenes glimpse of life in Ford’s communications department.

Consider finding a trusted employee at your organization to dedicate posts about your company to his or her personal blog.

 

Ahhh… the old chestnut… measurement

Katie Delahaye Paine is a guest writer over at Brian Solis’ blog and has penned a post on the need for a new mindset around PR marketing measurement.

While exposure to your brand certainly is a factor in decision making today, the reality is that in today’s environment, most decisions are influenced to a much greater degree by whatever your followers on Twitter, friends on Facebook recommend or what Google search delivers than they are by whatever ads pop up. Trying to decide what flat screen TV to buy, where to go for vacation, what movie to see, or where to make reservations for dinner, chances are you’ll either ask your friends on Facebook or Twitter for advice, or search on Google for reviews.

Thinking about Social Media

Jennifer Van Grove offers five ideas to consider in social marketing. As always “clear PR/marketing objective” discretion is recommended.

Should you find yourself in a social media marketing lull, we think you can take inspiration from these five innovative and fresh ideas currently making their mark on both the online and offline worlds. The important thing to keep in mind is that whether you’re trying to engage a unique audience, tailor deals using location, advertise in new ways, go bold, or tackle your Twitter fear head on, you’re likely to find the most success if you can shake things up a bit.

Forecast: Numbers entering PR as a career to decline (sharply)

When a few poor lost souls occasionally come to me to ask about a career in PR, I always preface any remarks by telling them that I am probably the worst person on the world to give them advice.

When I was in college I didn’t know what I wanted to do, but I definitely knew what I did not want to do, and there were two areas at the very top of the list:

  • Public Relations
  • Computers

Given the fact that I have spent the past seventeen years working in PR in the technology sector I think that precludes me from positioning myself as a career guidance guru. When I think back to why I shunned those two areas, computers was obvious, at the time it was a career that required you to be at least mildly-intelligent, something (my family would agree) that excluded my participation.

The dislike for PR is less obvious. But my only perception of PR at the time came from the BBC TV series Absolutely Fabulous which presented a view of Public Relations that was an absolute anathema to me. It was only a TV sit-com but that was what formed my opinion.

I fear that the news that broke yesterday, namely that Kim Kardashian is planning a new reality show on Public Relations will turn a whole new generation off the career, or maybe even worse turn a whole new generation on to Public Relations!

The proposed series follows Kardashian’s pals, PR gurus Jonathan Cheban and Simon Huck of the bicoastal agency Command Public Relations. A pilot for the show, which has been viewed by PEOPLE, has been shot and an undisclosed cable network is eyeing the series for a 2010 debut.

I am dreading watching this, but I know I will…

 

Update:

  • Shel Holtz has a great post and unlike me a great suggestion for the PR industry on this program.
  • He also managed to find their “web site”