This show sponsored by HP.

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Andrea Vascellari is a great guy. He lectures marketing to students in Finland and recently worked with his class to send me this video. I guess they were doing to me what I'm doing with Oprah. So far, Oprah has failed, but I hope they'll give me a passing grade with this response.

Some of the questions I answer:

• How do you reach consumers without making them feel like they've been brainwashed?
• Will people miss the 30-second spot if advertising goes away....?
• Is there a better channel then the Internet?
• What about engagement through real feelings and emotions?
• What's stopping/preventing organizations from joining the conversation?

Spread the word:

• Tell Andrea, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Anyone can have a conversation with anyone. Here's proof: http://bit.ly/Fwovl 
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

Seriously, buy yourself a copy of "Life after the 30-second spot". Written in 2004. Published in 2005.

An accurate prophecy of what just happened at Cannes:

• A digital agency in Amsterdam wins the coveted "film" Grand Prix for a web video
• President Obama shows that when it comes to integrated marketing, it's less about advertising and more about a great product, community and conversation.

Time of death: Saturday, June 27 2009.

Good riddance.

This show sponsored by HP.

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

There's so much lame influencer outreach these days, so when something finally works it's worth taking stock and giving credit where credit is due.

Spread the word:

• Tell Pharaoh, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Influencer outreach done right - http://bit.ly/57faF 
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

This show sponsored by HP.

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Attempt 2 or Strike 2? Come on in, O, you're still number 1 in my book!

Spread the word:

• Tell Ellen, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Oprah, can you hear me? http://bit.ly/SJMYf
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

This show sponsored by HP.

You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP) for friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products. Here's what you need to do:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

Don't talk about change. Prove you've changed. And you're not going to prove it through advertising. Or if you do, do it differently. My reflections on GM's 30-second spot hot on the heels of their Chapter 11 filing.

Spread the word:

• Tell Fritz Henderson, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: The GM who cried wolf - http://bit.ly/iNgQl
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

Links:

• My post on GM
• GM spot
• GM spoof site

This show sponsored by HP. See the end of this post for details on how you can join their friends 'n family Employee Purchase Program for discounts and deals on HP printers, Netbooks etc.

Every time a blogger hits the publish button, they're essentially asking for a response from you. This was inspired by the Domino's affair, where the company only responded to bloggers who explicitly reached out to them. Also check out my Adweek article.

Spread the word:

• Tell your CMO, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: New JJTV: Every time a blogger hits the publish button, they're asking for a response - http://bit.ly/eYnlV
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

Remember, you're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP). Here's what you need to do to be eligible to receive friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

By joining the EPP program, you'll receive aggressive discounts combinable with EPP mail-in and instant rebates, coupons and other exclusive EPP deals. Payment can be done with a major credit card, PayPal or online financing.

One of the main reasons I started JJTV was to fill a void in the marketplace, namely there wasn't a single marketing related show on TV, radio or anywhere else. I also wanted to "challenge" brands to step-up and support this show. Marketers are used to getting premium IP for free...it's time to change that.

Fortunately for me, someone was listening....HP! Starting today, HP will be sponsoring JJTV and showing their support for marketing thought leadership, innovation and creativity.

AND....there's something in it for you as well. You're invited to participate in HP's Employee Purchase Program (EPP). Here's what you need to do to be eligible to receive friends 'n family discounts on the full portfolio of HP and Compaq consumer products:

• Visit www.hpshopping.com/employee/jaffejuicetv and register to join the program
• You'll need to enter in EPP company code: 3807
• You'll receive additional exclusive offers if you sign up for the Monthly EPP newsletter

By joining the EPP program, you'll receive aggressive discounts combinable with EPP mail-in and instant rebates, coupons and other exclusive EPP deals. Payment can be done with a major credit card, PayPal or online financing.

That's the deal my friends. So please join me in welcoming HP to the conversation and show your support for them and the show by spreading the word and of course, purchasing that Netbook you've always wanted :)

Spread the word:

• Tell your CMO, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: JaffeJuiceTV has its first sponsor, HP - plus find out how you can get friends 'n family discounts - http://bit.ly/ZmoEO
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Leave a video response

Item 1: crayon client, Panasonic, gets a media review (versus LG) on their coverage of the digital transition and our Living in HD initiative is referenced.

The social media component gets 4 stars versus LG's 2 stars.

My only question is how Panasonic gets 3 1/2 stars overall versus LG's 4 stars when it scores higher in 5 categories and only lower in 1. I guess Print media is *that* important when it comes to digital :) 

Item 2: I shared the microphone with Ad Age's Abbey Klaasen, MTLB's Bill Green and of course host, Bob Knorpp last night night on my second Beancast.

Topics included:

• Interactive TV Play from Xbox live
• Any lengths for buzz (Guerilla)
• Facebook Land grab (Vanity URL's)
• Good for me or for them (Dell & Twitter)

Listen here why don't you? (those subscribed to my podcast should get this automatically)

Subscribe to Beancast here

Now along comes Twitter, which totally reduces our collective thought leadership to 140 characters or less and in doing so, belittles and minimizes every big thought into a punch line or social limerick. It’s premature articulation if you ask me and it’s very unsatisfying. Even with products like Twerbose (seems like it was made for me) which tries to cheat on Twitter’s size limitations by linking to a (gasp) blog post of sorts, the problem still remains and isn’t going away anytime soon.

Amidst the Twitterfication of our lives, I’ve noticed a disturbing trend developing. Blogs are starting to fade into oblivion. OK, maybe it’s not *that* bad, but it’s a fade nonetheless. As someone who blogs, podcasts and has a video show, I can attest first hand that the leap from blogs to audio to video is like crossing a chasm – the level of difficulty, complexity and commensurate time investment grows exponentially with each step up to a richer form of communication, characterized by the adoption of additional senses and skills. But if this is in fact true, why am I (and many others like me) struggling to post as prolifically (quantity) and substantially (quality) as I once did?

If blogging is so easy, why are so many of the Web’s legends in their own minds on a blogging downward spiral?

The other day I wrote a simple post about the launch of one our client’s iPhone Apps. It took me about 45 minutes to post a simple multi-paragraph overview of the product, containing several links and 1 or 2 images.

“When did blogging become such a laborious and time-consuming task,” I asked myself as I painstakingly filled out the appropriate categories for my post, verified the desired time stamp for my post to hit, entered the relevant keywords and Technorati tags and previewed the post before hitting the publish button?

And then, as if a little tweeting bird whispered the answer into my ear, it hit me: The enemy is Twitter.

Over the past 3 years, Twitter has caused me to become increasing jittery, scattered and hyperactive. Twitter has turned everything into an elevator pitch. It has marginalized and trivialized everything profound in2 @n abbrv’d #tagline.

Twitter is to blame for my poor responsiveness on e-mail as well. I once used to type long letters on e-mail. I would take the time to read every word from every e-mail sent to me. And now I barely do either. In fact, the number of unread e-mails in my in-box grows by the day.

Twitter is to blame. I’m not sure why, but why not? It’s better than blaming myself, right?

In all seriousness, there has been a marked shift from blogging to “micro”-blogging and I wonder what we’re sacrificing in the process. I recently spoke with a colleague (Grant), who pushed back smartly by giving me a history lesson; comparing Twitter to Poetry and how society once shunned and chastised this short-form content as being nothing more than superficial eye-candy rhymes that drove us further and further away from the “Great American Novel”. He made a good point.

We mock what we don’t understand

We belittle what we have no reference point for

We criticize what seems foreign to us

I guess I have a problem with the idea that Twitter is comparable to blogging at all. Whereas Twitter is all about living in “the now”, blogging rides the wave of the long tail. Whereas Twitter is about concentrated real time conversation, blogging is about dialogue that is both distributed and extended. Perhaps the biggest problem is that Twitter has almost become an alternative to blogging and in doing so, sets up a confrontational “versus” zero sum choice, when in reality is simply has to be an “AND”.

Perhaps the real issue with the 45-minute-blog-post-that-should-have-taken-me-5 was that I was too busy tweeting at the same time, distracted every 30 seconds with a familiar Tweetdeck chirp that has since put the AOL “You’ve got mail” dude out of business.

I guess we’re a little too quick to cast doubt and blame the way of new ideas, innovations and technologies which we perceive to distract us through disrupting our routines, norms and the status quo of life, when in reality all we need to do is just get on with it, using our common sense and figure out how to incorporate new technology in an additive and complementary fashion versus a cannibalistic one.

So perhaps I need to turn the blame inwards, along with my lack of self-discipline, self-control and inability to just turn off the friggen Internets every once in a while. Or maybe it’s a good sign that all those prolific bloggers who are blogging less these days, are doing so not because they’re tweeting more, but because they’re too busy doing REAL work for a change. Not a bad thing at all.

I’d like to leave you with a Twimerick:

“How many failed whales constitute a school?”

Said a learned owl to a suspicious mule.

“I don’t want to chat,”

said the mule with an @

And ended up looking like a tool.

Leo Laporte and Mike Arrington got into virtual fisticuffs on the Gillmor Gang over the Palm's iPhone wannabee, the Pre (he got a Pre; I got toilet paper.) They're both journalists. I'm not. I'm a marketer. Here are my thoughts.

Spread the word:

• Tell Steve Jobs, your friends, clients and co-workers
• Tweet or RT: Jaffe's take on the Laporte v Arrington kerfuffle - http://bit.ly/1y8LdI
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube 
• Leave a video response

Some additional links:

• Mike's post
• The clip of the blow-up
• ...and with a bit of keyboard cat thrown in for extra context

After the Dan Hesse bluff, Sprint leaves the wireless revolution and focuses on the NOW. Even thought they kind of cheated, kudos to them on a great effort.

Spread the word:

• Tell Dan Hesse (dan@sprint.com), your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: JJTV #18 - Sprint finally gets it right, even if they did cheat a little - http://bit.ly/s7ka3
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube 
• Post a video response - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maxw1jf6SHE

Links:

• Now network spot
• Dan Hesse / Wireless revolution spot
• Did you know video

Not even 24 hours after you announce you're filing for bankruptcy protection, essentially swindling countless shareholders and creditors out of obscene amount of money and leaving thousands upon thousands of employees, dealers, partners etc SOL....you give us this:

Reinvention? That's what you're calling it?

We're not witnessing the end of the American car, we're witnessing the rebirth of the American car????!!!!!??????

This is not about going out of business, this is about getting down to business????!!!!!??????

...because the only chapter we're focused on is Chapter 1????!!!!!??????

WTF????!!!!!?????? Somebody deserves a real hefty bitch-slap.

My only questions are as follows:

1. Exactly HOW LONG has this spot been in the hopper?
2. When did this get briefed?
3. Did Deutsch and McCann get paid upfront or are they on the list of Creditors?
4. Who did you use for the voice over and did HE get paid? I'll bet it wasn't some dude in the mail department.
5. Could you not have waited....oh....a week....a month.....6 months to let some of the pain subside before you insulted us with your rah-rah-rah, the best is yet to come crap
6. When will you learn that advertising is not the answer....especially during times where cathartic healing needs to take place via honest (let's be completely honest sounds like "who farted?"), authentic, transparent and open dialogue.

Whilst I totally get Eric Hirshberg, Deutsch's CCO/co-President's perspective that it's important to convince (read: prove to) skeptical consumers that it's ok/safe/sound to buy from a bankrupt company, this is done by earning back trust, demonstrating commitment and staying power and proving to them that once and for all, GM has/is/will change for the better.

Ugggh. Seriously. Ugggh.

A while back (January to be precise), I posted that if you don't blog, you can't work at crayon.

For the most part, I don't think this was a particularly provocative statement at all.

In fact, I believe that blogging is a bare minimum in terms of demonstrating both a baseline understanding of the space and being able to apply this in first-hand, practical terms.

Whilst some people argued that Twitter should count as a blogging equivalent, I largely ignored them as twits.

Well now I'd like to up the stakes and take this to the next level. And so with that said, here's the new bar: if you aren't a published author, you can't work at crayon (and a book on Twitter doesn't count)

Whilst it might sound elitest and a tad snobby, it's too bad. That's the way it is. To be a crayonista, you need to be a prolific thought leader and to prove it, you need to be a published author. Anything else is just fooling yourself into believing you're better than you actually are.

I'm kidding of course (kind of).

The real reason for this post is to congratulate fellow crayonista and our Chief Strategy Officer, Greg Verdino on his own book deal. Greg is writing a book on microMARKETING and his book is slated to be released in Q2 of 2010. My third book is due out in Q1 of 2010 so it's going to be a busy first half of 2010 for crayon!

Here's a little blurb of Greg's book to arouse your curiosity:

Enter micromarketing – a new approach to building brands, marketing products and services, and growing meaningful long-term customer (and corporate) value.  Micromarketing emphasizes relationships over reach, interactions over interruption, and the network effect over the broadcast network.  It is built upon the premise that the “next big thing” is really lots and lots of small things, and that to survive and thrive, even the biggest marketers must think and act small (make that “micro”), too. 

Congratulations Greg....welcome to the author's club. I'll pass on the secret handshake, codewords and underground meeting schedule when I see you next.  

Finally, an agency gets it right.

Now whilst I'm still not a fan of any company (Skittles, Modernista) completely ceding their digital presence to a surrogate/substitute e.g. YouTube, Facebook, Wikipedia or Twitter, I think Boone Oakley did a terrific job with this expression of their passion for producing 30-second spots :)

I say that tongue-in-cheek of course, because they've chosen video (much like I've done with JJTV) to demonstrate that they understand how to best use new media to tell an old story so to speak.

Specifically, they're showing their understanding of non-linear storytelling brought to life through YouTube annotations and hyperlinks. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, give Boone Oakley a call...they deserve the shot to teach an old dog (you), new tricks.

It remains to be seen whether this agency actually is a cut above its competitors, BUT they've certainly been able to get their proverbial feet in the door, make their pitch (independence over conglomerendence) and I'll bet that you spent more than 30-seconds being entertained by (gasp) a sales pitch.

Quite lovely. Well done, lads and ladesses.

MLB hit it out the park with this iPhone app. Babyshaker on the other hand, did not. On a third hand, interesting implications with respect to Apple's one-sided and subjective selection and curation policy.

Spread the word:

• Tell Bud Selig, your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: JJTV #17 - The good, bad and ugly of iPhone Apps - http://bit.ly/7j7AD
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube 
• Post a video response

I'll be in Sydney (again) in July, keynoting at the Australian Direct Marketing Association Forum on July 8th.

If you're interested in meeting up and/or having me speak to your company/clients, drop me an e-mail and let's chat: jaffe [at] crayonville [dot] com.

I <3 Australia

Party of the Century. Thanks Justin Timberlake. I owe you one, buddy.

See you all at my 100ktweetup.....coming soon to a TGIF near you. Flickr set here

Spread the word:

• Tell Justin Timberlake, your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: JJTV #16 - @jaffejuice's 10ktweetup big bash - http://bit.ly/yVRPs
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube 
• Post a video response 

Ex-crayonista Scott Monty works at Ford. He's been working on an influencer program to help promote and launch the new Ford Fiesta. It's what Forrester calls sponsored conversations and whether you like it or not; understand it or not (FTC)...it's only going to grow.

Spread the word:

• Tell Oprah, President Obama, your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: JJTV #15 - Sponsored conversations and the Ford Fiesta movement - http://bit.ly/IARuX
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Post a video response

Brian Morrissey over at Adweek/Adfreak/Tweetfreak just made it personal. He's now matching up my 10ktweetup tomorrow night (Wednesday, May 26th @ Southern Hospitality on 2nd Ave/betw. 76th & 77th - 6-8pm EST) against Joe Marchese's tweet-up.

Personally, I think you ALL should go to Joe's party. Free drinks; open bar....drink until there's no alcohol left or you pass out.

Or you can come to mine and hang out with me and a few crayonistas. Sadly, you only get 1 free drink, but you can sip it slowly.

Register here for mine or here for Joe's and either way, spread the word about both geeky soirees.

It's the time of the year again, but seriously....who cares? Not even Jimmy Kimmel.

I'm no prude, but I don't like it when the dude is rude.

Link to the commercial is here

Spread the word:

• Tell Oprah, Alex, Russ, your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: I'm no prude, but I don't like it when the dude is rude - JJTV #14 - Squarebutts & Burger King http://bit.ly/g0lPT
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Post a video response

The RFP process is broken. Jordan Kretchmer and Current_ fixed it. Hooray!

Spread the word:

• Tell your friends, co-workers, clients and colleagues
• Tweet or RT: JaffeJuiceTV on how Current_ and @jkretch fixed the RFP process with their TwitteRFP - http://bit.ly/UGOH5 #twitteRFP #crayon #JJTV
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Post a video response

Today, crayon client, GyPSii went live with their iPhone App on ITunes.

I'm excited about the potential for this app, given my belief (and New Year's prediction) that we're going to see a dramatic rise in Mobile Social Networking space. It's a no brainer if you think about it...mobiles connected to other mobiles in real time with an expanded footprint beyond 1-to-1 calling.

Here's a bit of background/marketing information on the app itself:

Whilst the GyPSii application falls into the MoSoSo (Mobile Social Software) category, it's different from the rest of the MoSoSo apps (Loopt, Brightkite, Foursquare, etc.) insofar that it's a mobile app for creating and sharing experiences.

It’s for anyone that wants to capture their life’s experiences. That includes travelers, urban techies and families — anyone with a story to tell.

• Embrace the lifestyle: GyPSii’s iPhone app delivers a new mobile lifestyle experience that allows you to capture your life live and on-the-go
• Instantly narrate your life: Write about your experiences on-the-go, marking the GPS location you’re visiting and uploading related images and text
• Decide how and when you share: You have full control of your privacy and can share with the world, go invisible or reveal selective information with certain friends in your network
• Stay connected: Your friends can see what you’re up to no matter what device or network they’re on In addition to downloads, we should encourage honest and frank reviewing of the app. Ratings and reviews — positive or negative — demonstrate usage to Apple, which will bump up the profile of the application in the app store. Plus ratings and reviews only make the next version of the application better.

Actually, I think GyPSii incorporates the best of the MoSoSo space i.e. capturing/tagging live events, finding local events, connecting with friends based on location.

So give it a download and if you're so inclined, give it a rating and/or review. And don't forget to friend me :)

Oh and here's a brief video which gives you a walkthrough of the app:

Other things you might find interesting:

• gypsii integrates into both Facebook and Twitter
• gypsii is on twitter if you want chat with them
• Ditto with Facebook

12 shows in, I look back in reflection and introspection on how far we've come (or not). I discuss product placement on JaffeJuiceTV, my indulgent gift from Charmin and the format for future interviews.

Ways you can do you part and spread the word:

• Tweet or RT: Jaffe updates JJTV and discusses product placement, perks and influence from doing the show and format for interviews - http://bit.ly/svAwr
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes or YouTube
• Post a video response

I love Oprah, but not in that way.

Thanks to Twitter and JaffeJuiceTV, I can have an intimate 1-on-1 dialogue with her.

Perhaps she'll respond.

Here's how you can help:

• Tweet or RT: New JJTV - Could @jaffejuice be @oprah's Dr Phil of Social Networking? http://bit.ly/AgEdZ
• Spread the word
• Subscribe to the show via iTunes
• Send in a video comment

  Panasonic has been keeping crayon very busy with an amazing initiative called, "Living in High Definition". It's a community project that really demonstrates the fact marketing is a commitment...not a campaign. Have a listen and enjoy. Audio comments to +1 206 203-3255

Direct download here

iTunes subscription here

If you want to find out more and join the community, visit www.livinginhd.com

Also for the remainder of May, Panasonic is giving away 30 camera/camcorders in 30 days. If you want to win one, just register for the program.

My thanks to Panasonic CMO, Bob Greenberg, VP of Brand Strategy, Tom Murano, Panasonic LiHD Family John & Eileen Calandro (Happy Birthday, Eileen!), LiHD Family and host of the LiHD podcast, Laura Pollak, LiHD community leader and crayonista, Kate Dickman and LiHD Answerman, Greg Harper for joining us today.

Several weeks back, I tweeted that first round of drinks would be on me when I reached 10,000 followers on Twitter. I've since hit the twilestone and about to come good on my promise.

Fortunately for me, Southern Hospitality stepped up to the plate and not only offered to host the event, but also offered to take care of the free drink to my followers. Thank you guys so much! You rock!

So save the date: Wednesday, May 27th from 6-8pm at Southern Hospitality: 1460 2nd Avenue, New York NY 10021. And while you're at it, follow them on Twitter: they're @bbqnyc

To attend, you can register here

...and if you'd like that free drink, make sure you're following both myself (@jaffejuice) and Southern Hospitality (@bbqnyc) and then send out the following tweet:

• @bbqnyc - I'm attending @jaffejuice's 10kTweetup on May 27th #jaffe10ktweetup

That's it...hope to see you there!!!

Alan Webber is a pretty accomplished guy. He launched Fast Company and now he's written a book, called Rules of Thumb. He's an old white guy, but he's smart and likeable. We had a great chat...here's the shorter version and a longer version if you want the Full monty.

And if you want the longer version, here it is.

And don't forget to buy the book!

As always:

• Spread the word. We need you
• Retweet: Jaffe and Webber - Batman and Robin - JJTV book interview: http://blip.tv/file/2080930
• Send in a video response
• Subscribe via iTunes

As you know, crayon works with Panasonic on a landmark community initiative called "Living in High Definition." If you haven't checked it out yet, give it a visit and hopefully you'll be motivated to become a member of this expanding group.

And if my invitation isn't enough, I'll give you a more familiar reason to in just a wee bit...

First, I wanted to remind you that I'll be discussing this initiative on Thursday, May 7th at 1.30pm EST on my podcast, Jaffe Juice - the New Marketing Podcast. If you want to listen in live and even participate/ask questions etc., you'll need this link for streaming and chat functionality and +1 724 444-7444 Pin 25133 if you want to call-in to the show.

And now, the incentive. How does the chance to win 1 of 30 cameras or camcorders in 30 days sound? To officially celebrate the launch of LiHD, Panasonic is offering up a bunch of digital carrots as a way of saying thank you to early adopters who become active members of the community.

It's a sweepstakes designed to drive registration and participation using product as the hero.

Here's the link which will take you to the promotion registration page. You'll need to become a member first and once you're all set up, you'll just need to register once to be eligble for the month-long daily-drawing. Oh, and be sure to check back every day to see if you're a prizewinner.

PS Don't keep it to yourself. Spread the word. Good goes around. Remember: Marketing folk, their friends and family are people too :)

If you're on twitter, here's a one-liner for you: Win 1 of 30 cameras/camcorders in 30 days via Panasonic's "Living in High Definition" - http://bit.ly/ZNOip - register once to win each day

The first attempt at linkety-link - news you can abuse:

Link 1: NYT should shut down its printing plant and send its customers Kindles instead

Link 2: Forget social networking, the new trends are anti-fan pages, filter failure and reverse networking. Hat tip to @socialbttrfly

Link 3: WPP and Publicis have been downgraded from stable to negative by Standard & Poors. In related news, crayon prepares a hostile takeover bid for both groups in Linden dollars.

Link 4: Fallon launches an edible toilet

As always:

• Spread the word
• RT why don't you: Jaffe just posted JJTV #9: Linkety Link - check it out: http://bit.ly/jKEzP
• Post a video response

• Subscribe via iTunes 

According to a new study from Harris Interactive, 66% of consumers believe advertising agencies bear at least some responsibility for the recession because they “caused people to buy things they couldn’t afford.”

Segue to AAAA's chieftain, Nancy Hill, who had this to say in our AAAA's leadership conference address in response to the above findings:

"Now imagine that: Advertising agencies causing the crippling of the economy because we stimulate consumer desire and consumer demand. Who says advertising doesn't work?"

She then grins and chuckles (perhaps a little nervously)

Now whilst I appreciate the tongue-in-check humor, mixed in with a little bit of sarcasm and dry wit, I was deeply troubled by her comments for 2 reasons:

1. We're not talking about Charmin toilet paper here. We're talking about trusting REEE-AL-TORS, Stockard Channing on behalf of A.I.G.'s promises about confidence, assurance and our future's security and the likes of Citi with their "Live Richly" poppycock.

2. We need to concede - or at least allow for the concession - that heavy T.V. viewers or at least T.V. viewers that rely on the medium as their primary media consumption channel are ARGUABLY a little more gullible, malleable and vulnerable than those that - for example - have full and high-speed access to the Web on an ongoing basis. Yes, perhaps this is about a digital or information divide between the socioeconomic haves and have-nots. Or perhaps it's just about trusting the wrong people.

I don't know about you, but if I was Nancy Hill, I'd focus on figuring out how to stop the rot and stem the one-way tidal wave of negative sentiment towards the ad industry, as opposed to slagging "adverbloggers" who are negative because they're given apt cause to be. Present company excluded. I love everyone - especially @oprah.

My latest Adweek column is up. It's called "Silence is Golden: when talking back is not always a brand's best bet." The original title was, "When to keep your big trap shut"

Take a gander and decide whether you want to join or avoid the conversation on this post :)

Full text:

Silence Is Golden Why talking back is not always a brand's best bet - By Joseph Jaffe

In this new "enlightened" era of joining the conversation, it appears that the ship has set sail once and for all on the debate as to whether or not brands should participate in online conversations. But today I'm going to talk about avoiding the conversation and I'll offer five diverse perspectives on when it's (arguably) better to remain on the sidelines and observe in silence.

1. Timing is everything.

Just because you've implemented an extensive "commitment-to-conversation" program and --thanks to your listening strategy-are ready to pounce the very millisecond anyone has anything to say, this doesn't mean you always should.

For starters, it's a little creepy if a big brand responds too quickly. There's a fine line between listening and spying (listening in). Secondly, always make sure a response is warranted and, if so, that it's warranted by you. Thirdly, don't discriminate between types of people and/or different levels of sentiment. While we tend to take our fans/promoters for granted-not necessarily the best play-on the flip side, we tend to jump in headfirst to counter negative or critical comments, Oftentimes (and I know it's happened to me more often than not), this comes across as defensive or contradictory.

2. Give time for the community to respond.

If you've earned the trust and affinity of a base of consumers, why not let them respond on your behalf? There's nothing more credible than when your community comes to your rescue to defend your position/perspective/actions. Premature conversation (there is a cure) negates the incredible phenomenon of customers as advocates and, in doing so, takes community out of the equation.

That said, be warned that this is not always the case and so there's always going to be a judgment call in terms of when to get in the game. At some point, you will need to act.

3. There's no etiquette when it comes to disrespect.

I used to believe that everyone, no matter what they say, deserves a respectful response. If people are spoken to in a respectful manner, with genuine empathy, they're more likely to be "turned around" and change their tone. I've since changed my tune. My take now is that rude and insulting posts or comments do not warrant or deserve a response. Frequently, we're talking about people with an axe to grind or personal agenda to advance. More likely than not, you're not going to change their minds or their position, so why bother? Why deflect your already scarce resources?

A sad by-product is that-like in many focus groups -- the active minority will overpower and ruin things for the silent majority. But once the drinking waters are muddied, it's time to move on and/or take the conversation elsewhere.

As an aside, it's important for you to run interference internally and externally to help manage expectations when it comes to filtering and internalizing these comments. Don't take these comments at face value and don't allow your management to be influenced either by overtly destructive feedback.

4. When cool becomes unkewl.

Let's face it, we've spent our entire professional lives believing our brand of deodorant, clothing, bank or vehicle represents the epitome of pop culture, coolness and aspirational magnetism. The reality is not always reflective of our idealistic perceptions. Oftentimes, when we slap our corporate logos and titles all over an otherwise organic and decentralized conversation, we create an instant downer.

Case in point: the many online polls predicting how long it will take to completely destroy Twitter based on the deluge of mainstream/established celebrities and brands joining the fray. Sorry, @oprah.

5. Response and responsiveness.

My final point is short and sweet. If you're going to respond with canned, empty, superficial and transparent (the bad kind) dialog, don't bother. A response needs to be comprehensive and it needs to be effective. If there's a problem, there needs to be some kind of resolution or, at least, a genuine attempt at its resolution. Pizza Hut is currently looking for an intern to represent an entire brand's equity, integrity and point of view in the Twitterverse. Wrong move. Dead wrong move. You don't bring a wooden sword to fight a fear-breathing dragon. Likewise, you don't bring a green, entry-level intern to represent an entire corporation in the conversation.

If they're not equipped and/or empowered to respond quickly and properly, the result can often be a backfire and/or backlash.

Those are my five "conversation avoider" conversation starters. I'd love to hear yours.

For a change, I was on another podcast as opposed to releasing an episode of my own one. This time it was the Beancast, which I'm happy to say is proof that podcasting is in fact still alive and kicking.

In this episode, I share the microphone with host, Bob Knorpp, Thought Gadget's Ben Kunz and Make the Logo Bigger's Bill Green and we have a really stimulating conversation about media accountability, measurability, performance based pricing, TwitteRFP, Saving Chuck and much much more.

You can find the episode here and subscribe to the show here (I strongly recommend it...I just did myself)

Direct download here btw (which should automatically find its way to your ears via magical R.S.S.)

In the past, I've always tried to give readers (of the blog) and listeners (to the podcast) a look under the covers of some of the marketing programs I've had the pleasure of working on. None have been as prevalent and exciting as Living in High Definition - Panasonic's community that celebrates the concept of High Definition (not just literally from a product standpoint, but also as an experience/way of life)

Recently we gave the community a new look (form and function); launched a community manager; a new podcast; a series of expert solution videos; and the list continues...

Now it's time to talk about it...and give you a chance to ask questions and talk back.

So mark your calendars for next Thursday, May 7th at 1.30pm EST for a live call-in episode of Jaffe Juice - the New Marketing Podcast. Joining me will be Panasonic's CMO and VP, Brand Strategy, LiHD's Community Manager, the host of the LiHD Podcast and last - but definitely not least - of of the participating families in the program (real life consumers!)

I'll be doing this via Talkshoe and here's what you'll need if you want to join:

• At 1.30pm EST on Thursday, May 7th, click on this link and join the call. Bonus points if you register. You'll be able to listen and chat live
• If you want to call in to the show, you'll need to dial +1 724 444-7444 Call ID: 25133 and I'll bring you into the conversation

It's going to be a pretty intriguing and illuminating call. Hope you can make it.

I recently sat down with Ad Age's Digital Editor, Abbey Klaasen and discussed an article she wrote called "How to weather a Twitterstorm"

1. Listen to the what -- and to the who
2. It's OK to say, "We don't know."
3. Address the crowd where it's gathered.
4. Tone matters.
5. Explain how you'll address the future.
6. Invest now to prepare for accidents later.

There are 2 versions:

• ...the short version for all those who have A.D.D. and/or feel web video needs to be short

• ...the long version with the full conversation

Take your pick.

Short

Long