One Flew Over the Cubicle's Nest

New post--on new blog...Join me

2009-05-15T16:32:34-07:00

Pls. note I'm migrating everything over to a new blog at www.ioncorporation.com/blog. New content, new look and feel, new lease on life. Join me here and let me know what you think. I appreciate the support and feedback.

Most recent post: Social Media & the Seven Marketing Blind Spots

The coolest posting, blogs, websites, books for communicators (and other humans) for Dec

2008-12-04T14:22:09-08:00

So many great sites, so little time. I tried to narrow them down to a small list Here's some of the cream of the crop (social media, branding, marketing, etc).

Branding

Great logo rebranding examples

Inspiring brands and websites

Social media tools, blogs, trends, news

Essential apps for bloggers

Is the personal blog an endangered species?

The Enterprise and social media

The Power of blogging with a long term view

The ultimate blogging guide

Twitter, Facebook, Friendfeed

Biggest mistakes of social media gurus (good one)

50 ideas on using Twitter for business

The Twitter toolbox

Secrets of Power Friendfeed users

Misc

Geeky movies we loved anyway

Excellent tips for using Flickr (finding great pics, posting, etc)

75 Public Speaking Blogs (This is a valuable resource for anyone involved in public speaking, a wide array of blogs on every aspect).

Books

Malcom Gladwellsâ€™ new book: Outliers (review) Challenges the traditional notion of the ingredients of success.

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/11/12/malcolm-gladwells-ne.html

Strategic Alliances: Three Ways to Make Them Work (Harvard Business Press) (book I ghost-wrote for Cisco's Strategic Alliances VP, recently published)

Mean Markets and Lizard Brains (different approach to thinking about investing/financial markets--timely in light of the current financial market turmoil

Other locations to find my materials or follow me:

My Google Shared page:http://www.google.com/reader/shared/02487257926426830202

Twitter: http://twitter.com/markivey

ION Group www.ioncorporation.com

We're revamping our website to include these kind of articles and more.

Charlene Li & the Groundswell--Ready for A Revolution?

2008-05-16T16:27:29-07:00

Is social media about to revolutionize the way corporations communicate? Are they finally "getting it"? Should PR, marketing and advertising folks pack it up and start looking for new jobs? Not exactly, but the tidal wave is coming and everyone better get prepared, according to Charlene Li, the Forrester analyst turned book author who spoke last night in Palo Alto. She spoke at the monthly Third Thursday event, sponsored by the Society of New Communication Research and hosted by Voce Communications.

Her book is appropriately named Groundswell, which she describes as a "social trend" that is bubbling up across corporate America, changing the way they communicate with employees, shareholders, the media and everyone else. In a soft sort of way, she challenged everyone to get on top of this, and like the original American Revolution, she said we need more revolutionaries like Thomas Jefferson to bring this to fruition.

I don't completely buy into the idea that this is going to happen as fast as proponents like Ms. Li believe, and despite all the noise, I have a hard time comparing Mark Zuckerberg, the 22 year-old Facebook CEO, or anyone else, to our founding fathers in this deal. I've seen successful case studies, and been involved in a couple myself. But I've also seen many cases where it's not panning out as expected (with corporate blogs for instance), and communications managers are scrambling to salvage it. Much needs to be done to move this movement forward inside our companies. It may be happening but it's in fits and starts.

Still, I do believe this is the right direction and I came away impressed with Li's work in this area and enthusiasm. Any movement needs a few strong evangelists, and she's definately out there. I wanted to buy a book, but by then they'd all be snapped up by the 30 or so audience members (I ordered it on Amazon).

As I'm listening to her, it's clear that she's describing a new way of thinking.

In the "groundswell" world, objectives--which are key to everything--look different.

Research objectives are about listening

Marketing is about talking to your customer and opening up discussion lines vs "shouting" at them

Sales is about energizing the customer base.

Support is about getting customers to support each other (something Dell and others are doing with their forums)

Product development is about involving the customers in the process...and so on.

So companies are urged to throw out the old playbooks and engage with the customer. You've heard this before, but Li does have some examples and studies to back her up.

For instance, Del Monte has a site "Listening to dog owners," which help them develop a product called Snausages breakfast bites (don't laugh--it's true). Proctor & Gamble (seller of Tampons) sponsors a site where young girls can go on and talk about all sorts of personal life issues. Stats are scarce on what the return has been on these, but apparently some are getting traction. P&G has expanded the site to 29 countries.

These companies follow a small number of keys to success:

* Start with your customers

* Choose an objective you can measure

* Line up executive backing

* Romance the naysayers

* Start small, think big

Speaking of ROI, Li did provide one example out of her book, using the GM blog Fastlane. Forrester figured out that the total cost of the GM CEO blogging at least one hour a week for a year was $285,000--CEO's aren't cheap when it comes to their time. This number is likely high since they included everything but the kitchen sink. They then estimated the total benefit (press stories, word of mouth, advertising visibility, etc) to be $353,000-- a pretty good return. You can argue with these numbers-- of course, the GM blog received more media attention its first year--but these still provide us a rough gauge.

Li said there are plenty of ways to measure social media results--most of which communicators have been using for years. The challenge is "what sort of value do you put on these?" I found this to be an interesting issue: what value do you place on RSS feeds from your key partners or investors, for instance, vs a simple Joe Off the Street who stumbled on to your blog? And how do you even define "real value" to measure? If a company is striving through its CEO blog to develop an image as an industry thought leader, their measurement may be far different than another company seeking to soften its image or drive sales.

Until social media advocates get this figured out, the idea of transforming corporate America is going to take awhile (one clue: ClueTrain Manifesto, the first to raise these issues, was published in 1999).

Of course, all good revolutions take time.The good news is people like Li are working on it. I look forward to reading the book.

Killing off the Social Media Specialist

2008-03-26T17:43:08-07:00

Will social media specialists go the way of the blacksmith? Yes, if you believe Steve Rubel, the well known Edeleman blogger. He believes the social media manager will be extinct in a few years. Where will they go? Absorbed into the corporate marketing and PR machines, says Steve.

Steve is one of my favorite bloggers and always seems to be on top of the latest trends. But this is one I'm hoping he misses.

Steve's argument is that PR professionals at most companies will soon be well equipped to manage social media activities as well as a lone-wolf specialist. These skills aren’t rocket science and can be easily picked up by a savvy inhouse communications manager. Most companies don't have the "luxury" of these specialists when instead they can sweep it up into existing PR or marketing organizations.

I think this would be a huge mistake.

Social media requires different skills and mindset than PR--in fact, it's the antithesis of PR. Ever hear of a PR manager who really believes in letting go of the messaging or allowing employees free reign to engage in wide-open conversations? PR is about message control and spin. Don’t try to disguise it as anything else. Public relations and “transparency” are like oil and water.

There’s no reason we can’t continue to have separate positions for social media marketing managers or strategists, and that public relations organizations can't be involved of course. As social media strategist and Forrester analyst Jeremiah Owyang points out, we already have specialized marketing managers in large corporations sorted by industries, mediums, and channels (ex: web marketing, search marketing, event marketing).

Here's what really bothers me.

With social media, we truly have a rare opportunity to change the way companies connect with the public, shareholders, the media, etc. But do you think this will happen if social media becomes just another marketing or PR function?

My experience in this area hasn’t been all that positive. When I was a marketing manager at Intel in the 1990s, I had a very successful—if eccentric—educational outreach program absorbed into the PR program after three solid years of success. The "PC Dads" program was a free-wheeling, engaging effort that caught the public’s attention in 30 plus states, and we were on our way to some national acclaim. But once it got pulled out of marketing (actually the Intel Inside program) and into PR, it was soon watered down and eventually died.

I fear the same thing could happen as social media gets bottled up in these organizations. Truth is, there's not that many social media specialists vs thousands of Rubels and huge agencies like Edelman that have been at this a long time. Giant, well-heeled armies vs the odd few. We've seen this movie before.

The good news is that social media is already pretty far along, and I think the forces of nature are in our favor. Look at companies like Sun where the CEO is blogging like mad, minus the restraints of PR (or HR or Legal it seems), and you can see where I think we're headed. Several companies I’ve run into lately (Intuit, Intel, eBay, etc) have hired social media specialists and plan to stretch their muscles in this area—actually, they already are. And truth be told, there are many companies where PR groups and these specialists seem to co-exist ok (yes, there are inevitable clashes, but what else is new?)

It’ll be hard once this train’s rolling down the track to get it stopped. People (employees, investors, etc) will demand more. Call it transparency. Authenticity. Openness. But like freedom, once people get a taste of it, no one wants to turn back the clock. We're having too much fun to spoil it now.

Quit Fighting it--Write it (NY Times Blogging Tips)

2008-03-20T15:20:45-07:00

The NY Times posted a list of blogging tips from veteran bloggers, some well known (Mark Cuban), some not ("So You Want to be a Blogging Star). Some of these are a little overly simplistic--example, Cuban says to "blog about your passions. Don’t blog about what you think your audience wants. Post because you have something you are dying to write about.”
Well, this is ok but you might wind up writing for an audience of one if your interest is too narrow (example: the study of Victorian door knobs). You'd be better off doing a little research on similar topics and sites and developing a topic you're interested in that also has a reasonable following.

One that stands out for me on the corporate side is: Just Post it Already

Many corporate folks still approach blogging as if they're writing an article or book chapter. This is all part of "letting go," which so many people struggle with--particularly marketing people (messaging is still God). I personally have trouble with this one too, having come out of a traditional journalism background. There's something in us that wants to lay out the entire argument, polish it, add transitions and so on. Posting is really more about getting the idea out there in an informal, top of mind way vs polished prose. Think of it as a work in progress, which is never really finished.

" Xeni Jardin, who juggles blogging at the quirky alternative-news site BoingBoing.net with a career as a freelance journalist for NPR, Wired magazine and others, resists the urge to polish her blog prose the way she would a radio script. “Don’t bottle up your ideas forever believing you have to hit the same kind of mature, complete, perfect point as you would with a magazine or newspaper article,” she says. “Blogs are always in progress.” Boing Boing’s bloggers are known for going back to posts to update them, adding new information and striking out factual errors."
The full list (with a few comments)

Don't expect to get rich (THERE GOES MY EARLY RETIREMENT PLAN)
Write about what you want to write about, in your own voice
Fit blogging into the holes in your schedule (WHAT HOLES?)
Just post it already!
Keep a regular rhythm (2 to 3x at week minimum--although easier said than done).
Join the community
Plug yourself (CUBAN HAS NO PROBLEM WITH THIS ONE)

Are YOU Becoming Obsolete?

2008-03-12T20:30:17-07:00

... and not realizing it?

Now's a good time to think about your skills and how well you're positioned for the Brave New World barreling down on us.

Here's a good place to start.

Robert Scoble started a list of obsolete skills a few weeks ago here and that later led to a giant and growing wiki .

Scoble's list was pretty straight forward:

1. Dialing a rotary phone.
2. Putting a needle on a vinyl record.
3. Changing tracks on an eight-track tape.
4. Shorthand.
5. Using a slide rule.
6. Using carbon paper to make copies.
7. Developing film/photos.
8. Changing the ball or ribbon on your Selectric Typewriter.
9. Getting off the couch to change channels on your TV set.
10. Adjusting the rabbit ears on your TV set.
11. Changing the gas mixture on your car’s carburetor.

But the longer list--and you can argue about some of these all night--is much more wide ranging. Some of these were blown out by new technology ("adjusting rabbit ears on a TV", "dialing a rotary phone") others a reflection of changing lifestyles and mass marketing. Who has their milk delivered to their homes anymore? Is "knowing your neighbors" now dead? Are "good manners" history?

Some just faded away quietly. Remember carbon paper or when you had to actually focus a camera or format a floppy? What about percolating coffee?

Some are arguable. Is "common sense" really dead (maybe). Have we truly lost the ability to think--and "drive" (driving a car is listed as a lost skill). What about "read a map?"

So what skills will be obsolete in five or ten years?

Will "writing" be dead? Already "texting" "IM-ing" and "twittering" has replaced true prose in most of the blogosphere--so what's next?

This is interesting because when we work with employees at many companies starting to blog (anyone over, say, 30), they still groan and think about blogging as equivalent to "writing an article." Meanwhile the blogosphere is zooming ahead with a new kind of top of mind thinking, shoot and run writing style. Breezy. Punchy. Brief. Get the thought out there and move on.

If you think about jobs skills and career paths, and the power of technology and the Internet, the possibilities are interesting--and perhaps scary. With the Internet, just to take the job field, almost any middleman type business is potentially vulnerable. Look at what the Internet has already done to car dealers, full commission brokers and travel agents, just to name a few. On the communications side, you can bet public relations, marketing and advertising is going to go through massive changes the next few years. Better adjust or join the typewriter and carbon paper crowd.

What about journalists and real estate agents--how long will they be around?

Actually, journalists are a good case example. The Internet and explosion in blogs won't wipe them out completely, but it will force them to change how they use their skills. While many of the big pubs and tv networks fade in power, thousands of new venues arise. Who would have ever thought a TechCrunch would potentially compete with a BusinessWeek? Or a Drudge Report could conceivable compete with a Time or People Magazine? So the writing skills and discipline of a journalist is needed more than ever and they will adjust, but forget the glory of working for a glamorous publication.

And so it goes. Skills come and go, we all get older. Our kids and grand kids will come along with questions that will give us a chance to ponder our obsolete skills. "Gee Dad, you were a journalist? How did that work before the Internet?"

By then, perhaps I'll be off playing golf on a course overlooking an ocean--if golf isn't obsolete.

Can ANY Online Community Last?

2008-03-05T20:14:37-08:00

Steve Rubel raises a good question, as to whether online communities can ever "stick" for any length of time. Most don't last for long. He goes down a long laundry list--The Well, Tripod, GeoCities, Friendster and so on. Remember CompuServe? All had communities at one time. All came and went. Now it's even more competitive and complex, and the stakes are higher. What does this mean for the likes of a FaceBook or MySpace, let alone a smaller fry like Yelp?

He points out that only a handful of sites endure over a dozen years. Those sites all have "moats" that protect them, he says. "These barriers to entry include peer-to-peer commerce (in the case of Edelman client eBay), robust user reviews (Amazon.com) and deep entrenchment in vertical markets (BlackPlanet.com)."

Besides the moats, I'd also say at least in the case of Amazon, they know how to really serve their customer, uh I mean community visitor. Their user review system is the best. The sales process is automated and smooth, and of course, they use all of their intelligence to tailor choices to each "If you like XYZ book, you might consider ...."

So it may be mixing apples and oranges, but Amazon does have a community of sorts, mixed with a powerful e-commerce machine--and it works. By comparison, so far, as Facebook tries to overlay a new marketing system on top of its former community site (while sucking in millions of oldsters like me), it's messy at best. Complaints about violation of privacy run rampant.

My guess is that community sites come and go because that is the nature of communities,which are fleeting and fluid, not much different than past times, when neighbors would convene at the local coffee shop to trade gossip (and still do). Some of those last for years, but in other cases they break up after a few weeks or months. Facebook's juggling act is to try to keep people connected and coming back, while they try a slew of marketing schemes to milk everything they can out of this model. They are trying to defy gravity, in a sense, and break from the past. They'll probably pull it off, but don't bet the farm on it lasting forever. The ghosts of The Well and all of the others say otherwise.

Books on Social Media Marketing (and more)

2008-03-03T18:17:10-08:00

Following are three good books on social media marketing and PR, and one on presentations;

The New Rules of Marketing and PR
Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Marketing Gurus
Radically Transparent
Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery

The New Rules of Marketing and PR (David Meerman Scott)

I liked this book. Well organized and thought out, it outlines a new approach to marketing and PR, using Web 2.0 tools. The old days of mass marketing and PR has been replaced. Now it’s all about conversations, interaction, and appealing directly to the user’s needs. You’d better give the customer the information they want, when they want it—or kiss them goodbye.

My favorite part of the book is where the author talks about how anyone can now be an online publisher, even corporations. Chapter nine outlines the “content rich website” which will undoubtedly replace the old marketing-driven website of the 1990s, with these focusing on the viewer/reader. Other good chapters on “branding your company as a trusted resource,” blogging to reach your buyers, and the usual stuff on wikis, podcasting, and other web 2.0 tools.

David covers a lot of strategic and practical ground. As the Amazon review puts it, this book, “provides the technical novice a thoughtful and accessible guide to cutting-edge media arenas and formats such as RSS, podcasts and viral marketing, without neglecting the fact that technological wizardry can't substitute for a well-thought out marketing program. This may even be a better book than The New Influencers, which I also liked (see review).

Other noteworthy books (which I’m either reading or will be reading soon):

1) Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus (Michael Miller)

Covers everything from web design to blog marketing and online advertising. Nice array of bloggers and writers.

2) Radically Transparent (Andy Beal and Judy Strauss)

Andy Beal writes a great blog so this is bound to be a good book. Written for any marketer or PR manager-or anyone—who has to deal with online reputations—whether you’re trying to polish your company’s reputation, or someone has blasted you.

Book includes step by step action plan so that you can develop the skills necessary to monitor and manage your online reputation, and strategies for repairing your reputation if it’s already been damaged. For a glimpse of the book, check out Andy’s posting (Ten Ways to Fix a Google Reputation Nightmare)

3) Presentation Zen: Simple Ideas on Presentation Design and Delivery (Voices That Matter) ((Garr Reynolds)

I've been reading Garr’s (Presentation Zen) blog for over a year, tons of good advice on presentations and the book, from what I’ve heard, is also a winner. Goes far beyond just practical advice on creating good slides, to talk about how to “simplify presentations for better communications.” (See Joel’s review )Rules include “removing everything but the essential.” (Think Apple). Overall, good advice for anyone managing or conducting presentations, and inspirational to anyone--and that's all of us--who have longed for years to break out of the PowerPoint mindset.

See Guy Kawasaki's Interview with the Garr.
Excerpt: Question: In a nutshell, what makes a good presentations stick?

Answer: If you want to know how to make better presentations, buy Made to Stick by Chip Heath and Dan Heath. The Heath brothers found that sticky, compelling, and memorable messages and ideas share six common attributes: Simplicity, Unexpectedness, Concreteness, Credibility, Emotions, and Stories. Ask yourself how your presentations rate for these elements, and you are on your way to crafting presentations that stick.

Cool sites

2008-02-29T11:26:41-08:00

Some cool sites I've stumbled upon recently:

1) Top 100 marketing blogs (amazing array of bloggers)
2) Linked-in vs Facebook (compares new features as Linked-in tries to catch up)
3) You Tube adds new personalized profile pages (finally)
4) 5 ways to make social media a part of everyday life (for all of us who struggle to keep blogs going and do everything else)
5) Most popular social networking sites around the world (you might be surprised that Facebook isn't usually #1 outside the U.S.
6)Chris Anderson and the freeconomy : The decline of Big Media and rise of Niche Media. Wired editor Chris Anderson on "Freeconomics" and how it will change the media world (also see Wired Magazine this month)

For fun: 79 years of Oscar posters

Google Health, Facebook and Privacy--Who Needs it?

2008-02-29T08:18:33-08:00

The spread of social networks is now showing its dark side: the loss of privacy. There was an uproar a while back when Facebook subscribers found out that their online shopping sprees were being automatically reported back into their FB profiles for all their friends to see. You can imagine the surprise when they open up their FB profiles. "Hey, look what Seth bought at Victoria's Secret this week!" So FB did a quick reverse and added some new controls but the cat was out of the bag. Now everywhere we turn, we see our privacy being invaded.

It happened to me twice the last week, first on Yelp when I wrote a short restaurant review and--presto--it showed up on my FB profile. No one asked, I was never given the chance to opt out or opt in. But there it was, my review of an Italian restaurant (which I skewered). It happened again a few days ago when I rented a couple of new movies on Blockbuster Online. AT least this time, they gave me the chance to opt out (a little box pops up on the screen), but I need to test their system. I'm wondering now, if I don't check the "No", if it automatically uploads to my FB profile. It's not that my negative review of a restaurant or the fact I rented the movie Gone Baby Gone is anything to hide. It's just creepy when you can't protect your privacy.

Of course, we could all just opt out of social networks and go hide, but why should we have to trade off personal privacy to use these powerful tools? I've thought for months that, with the valuations of FB reaching astronomical levels, this could be just another bubble waiting to burst. A rebellion against the privacy invaders may tip it over the top.

Or not.

People seem willing to make the trade, for now. Howl a little, then go back to Twittering. Meanwhile, the companies are looking at every angle to transform social networks into new marketing channels, tapping your personal information to either spread their brands or drive their sales machines.

Will they kill the golden goose? Probably not, but too much of Big Brother will certainly do some damage--we just don't know how.

Now with Google announcing they'll be putting your health records online with lGoogle Health I'm wondering what I'll be seeing show up next time I go to the doctor: "Mark's knee surgery was a success and he's now home recovering. Give him a "hug" or send him a virtual floral arrangement (for $1).

Hillary and the Power of Communications

2008-01-09T13:33:09-08:00

People are still scratching their heads, wondering how Hillary Clinton pulled off a stunning upset in New Hampshire over Barack Obama. The media and pundits, blinded by the polls and Obama's rock star speeches and crowds, had written her off. But if her speaking and communications skills played a role--and of course they did--you have to look at what she did the last five days leading up to the vote.

One knock against Hillary has always been that she's not likable--too cold, too political, driven by polls, not the people. But in the NH TV debate, and later on the stump, she showed a different face--more humble, more giving, more human. Critics called it just another Clinton gimmick--remember "slick Willie's" reputation in the 90s? And when she almost teared up in front of a crowd later (photo above), and began talking about how hard it's been and how she truly wants a better country, some pundits said the "stunt" could backfire--a show of weakness, they said.

In fact, it may have had just the opposite effect, grabbing media attention and galvanizing the women vote. After losing the women vote in Iowa, she won it back in NH, 46 percent to 34 percent. According to the TV talking heads and exit interviews, some women said they decided to give her another look after hearing her emotional-charged statements. Some talked about how hard women have worked over the last generation to rise in corporations and political offices in this country. The Hillary episode may have reminded some of the long, hard trail, turning Hillary into a lightning rod for a larger issue--at least for the moment. And that's all she needed-a moment to show her human side.

""I think she's human. I think she's got the clout," said Joyce Connelly, 76, an independent from Laconia, N.H. in a newspaper interview.

Another woman, interviewed on NPR, said she "woke up that morning and knew I had to vote for her (she was going to vote for Obama). It almost felt like a duty. What was I thinking before?"

No one will argue that this one issue won Hillary over in NH, or that women are voting for her soley because she's a woman. But one would be equally naive to think her new and improved speaking style--see my last post--isn't giving her a big boost. She may not be an Obama, or even rival her husband Bill as a silver tongued orator, but she's finding her true voice--one more authentic, richer, more believable. Too bad she couldn't have found it earlier, but better late than never. Look for a very interesting race going forward.

Top Ten Best Communicators 2007-- Where's Obama?

2008-01-07T17:18:57-08:00

Bert Decker, the presentations skills guru, published his annual list of the top ten best (and worst) communicators recently, and it's worth a peek. It's a reasonably good list, with some blatant exceptions.

First, where is Barack Obama? While Bert listed Republican candidate Mike Huckabee, he left out Obama, who's hands-down the most eloquent public speaker running for office, as he showed in the recent NH debate. He has an uncanny ability to distill complex issues into simple but compelling messages--and deliver them with passion and even fury, engaging with audiences on an emotional level we haven't seen in years. His victory speech after Iowa rekindled memories of Martin Luther King.

Huckabee, by the way, also demonstrated strong skills on the stump in Iowa and NH. In the NH debate, he nailed several issues with clear, direct answers and an unwavering, direct style--such strong eye contact, at times he seems to be almost looking through the camera. I don't know if it's his baptist preacher background, but it's clear he has an iron-clad conviction when he speaks (compare that to Bush, below).

By comparison, Fred Thompson (on Bert's Worst List) stumbled and bumbled through his answers, making you wonder if he was even tuned in at times.

While we're talking politics, you can't forget Hillary Clinton. While she's not the orator that Obama is, she has improved dramatically the last year. She's managed to soften her image slightly, and seems more likable at times--witness the exchange during the NY debate when she joked about "being hurt" by the popularity comparisons with Obama. "I don't think I"m that bad," she joked. She's sharp and articulate on the issues and shows steely nerve, when needed. Yet she can still lose her cool, as she did during the debate when John Edwards said she reflected the status quo and was against change. She almost came out of the chair yelling back at him. Note to Hillary: chill.

Bert also put Bush on the "worst" list, and for good reason. Amazingly, Bush has actually gone backwards since being in office when it comes to personal speaking style, picking up odd mannerisms and behaviors that would fail him in a college speech class (example: the infamous head cock). See "Managing the Bush Twitch"

Moving on, and back to the list. I had two other qualms. Maria Bartiromo and Glenn Beck, two TV personalities, should be kicked off the list. Bartiromo is certainly attractive and may be an ok correspondent for CNBC, but as she showed in the documentary on Alan Greenspan a few months ago, she's no heavy hitter. Indeed she spent much of the hour gushing over the former fed chairman like a swooning cheerleader, and focusing on silly questions like how he thinks in the bathtub. Beck is just loud and obnoxious and just a notch over Suzy Orman, another scary woman who made it on Bert's worst list.

The only one who beats out both of them is Nancy Grace, the loud-mouthed TV commentator who proves that you don't have to have any class or speaking skills to make it on TV. She's on the "worst" list. Good job on that one Bert.

Five Reasons Journalists Will Adapt to the New Media World (Like it or Not)

2007-11-27T09:18:56-08:00

Everyone agrees that today's media--and journalism in particular--is going through a major transition. The question is, can today's traditional media-newspapers, network TV, etc--make the leap to the new world? More specifically, can individual journalists make the leap?

The jury is still out but many people are skeptical about the future of this business. Who can blame them with print publications fading so fast--Business 2.0 was the last to bite the dust with their October edition. And as you can see from this debate ("Losing the Journalistic Security Blanket") in the Media Shift blog, some skeptics don't even think journalists will be able to handle comments.

That argument seems logical: Journalists are sheltered and stuck in their own worlds, accustomed to a top-down system where information only flows one way. Compared to the traditional media, the new rough and tumble world of blogging is a free-for-all. No one cares if you have a media brand behind you--the halo doesn't work in the blogosphere, where everyone has an equal voice. They'll never adjust, the argument goes.

I disagree for several reasons.
1. Journalists aren't stupid--they see today's trends and know where it's going. Yes the newsrooms may still look the same but below the surface there's a lot of energy going into adjusting to the new media world. Many reporters, including more than a dozen or so of my old BusinessWeek colleagues, are already blogging.
2. Comments create excitement, and interest in their stories. Static stories can be boring, but mix in a few comments and you have an interesting debate. While some thin skin reporters cringe at any criticism, others welcome any feedback. If nothing else, you appreciate the fact someone is reading your stories.
3. Content is king: Journalists are professionally trained to dig up interesting stories and spin them for their audiences. Content and "the story" still carry the day in the blogosphere. Some journalists may need to adjust to the style--shorter, punchier, etc--but that's relatively easy for the good ones.
4. Blogging is liberating: Magazine journalists get tired of writing for heavy-handed editors, often having to write within restrictive guidelines (newspaper reporters seem to have enormous freedom, by comparison, but they get burned out too). Blogging enables them to speak their minds more freely and use their own style. It also allows them to create valuable connections with readers.

5. They have no choice: Print publications and the style that went with them will likely be replaced the next few years by online editions. They may still exist in some form, but mainly as advertising vehicles for companies and industries that, for whatever reason, want to continue reaching these print audiences. The overwhelming majority of energy and financial resources will be pouring into online entities-- online editions, blogs and new types of forums we haven't invented yet.

The journalist will have to reinvent himself/herself, but many have had to do that in their careers anyway. When I made the switch from writing for newspapers to BusinessWeek back in the 1980s, it was a completely different style--an essay like style vs the old newspaper pyramid, and opinion columns vs straight forward "news." Making the transition from magazine (or newspaper) writing to blogging is easy, by comparison.

The bigger adjustments will be on a macro level as the media transition continues. Journalists will have to figure out a way to package and "sell" their specialized knowledge in a new world, where information will be available anytime, anywhere--where information will find you, whether through a blog or cell phone or iPod. Marketing and journalism are like oil and water--reporters hate the idea that they are no longer above the fray. But they have no choice. The glory days of the journalist are ending and Woodward and Bernstein are a fading memory even for the Baby Boomers. A new future awaits--for those who can make the transition.

Wired vs PR Flacks--the Debate Rages On

2007-11-21T09:19:23-08:00

The debate within the PR community rages on around Wired Editor in Chief Chris Anderson's public decision a few weeks ago to ban dozens of PR folks from his email after they spammed him with what he called stupid or irrelevant story ideas (Anderson is author of The Long Ta il) What made this different was he did it publicly--"Sorry PR People You're Blocked" , so now they can't pitch him anything--at least from a specific email address. After blasting the "lazy flacks", he offered a clarification Nov. 1, saying he wasn't blocking entire domains, just individuals--presumably sloppy PR people who blast out aimless emails, he says. Chris' "outing" of the villainous PR types has caused an outcry in the PR community. I heard it again last week at an SVAMA conference in San Jose, and he's received hundreds of comments, many of them screaming foul--ironically, creating publicity for himself (see my comment to the original post below).

What's really interesting is that despite all the hype and hoopla about the new "age of the conversation," the PR model hasn't really changed since I was writing for BusinessWeek over 15 years ago.

Companies, as one commenter pointed out, want big name editors/pubs on their media list. It makes them feel better, even if your chances are slim of getting any ink. Overloaded agencies assign junior account people to the account and loosely supervise them. Junior PR person doesn't do his homework--why read the magazine anyhow?-- and sends out press releases and memos pumping up their client's product or business.

The editor could be toying around with five or six story ideas, and open to others--but it takes some work figuring that out (reading the last few articles, seeing what he's blogging about, what his rivals are writing about, exploring trends in his industry and subject matter). Why do all this when you can blast him with a bunch of press releases?

You have to wonder, after all these years, and so many smart people in this profession, why it still goes on? Perhaps, because: a) Corporate client pays the bill and doesn't ask questions. b) the industry still has an abundance of young, ambitious but inexperienced people c) it does work perhaps 1% of the time (this is the lottery approach). Take your guess, but it's probably a mixture of all three.

Clearly the industry needs to come up with a new model, and there is some movement in the right direction. One idea is to quit pitching editors like Anderson, who claims to get 300 emails a day, and work with the client to create something of value. This might be a new website or blog with a collection of interesting and worthy materials on a given subject. You could invite guest columnists or bloggers and build up a central platform on your subject. The technology is all there, and today companies can just as easily be publishers as the Wireds of the world. Then you have something you can pitch to the editors--information that might actually help them do their job. This is just one idea, but the point is to move beyond the old "dialing for dollars" model and do something of value, for the client and the editor. Get creative.

Longer term, technology and editors like Anderson will go a long way toward weeding this out. But don't expect it to be solved quickly. Meanwhile the cat and mouse game continues. This time the cat struck back.

My comment to the original post:

"I continue to be amused by this little debacle--it continues to come up around Silicon Valley at PR and marketing conferences. Seems the PR industry can't get enough of this. It will be interesting looking back five to seven years from now, when many PR folks will find their jobs wiped out by the web and other technology. Of course, the best will always survive, positioning as strategists or something else. Fat print pubs like Wired may not fare any better. Hang on to your copies, as they'll be collector items. Meantime, there is irony to appreciate. All these poor PR slugs were simply trying to get publicity for someone; these were lame attempts in most cases. Now the joke is on them, as Chris Anderson enjoys a wave of industry publicity with his blacklisting stunt. Might even help him launch his next book."

FEMA Strikes Again, and Again and Again

2007-10-30T16:10:33-07:00

What's amazing is how one agency can continue tripping over itself. After suffering through Katrina, FEMA looked like it had finally come up with a solution during the recent California wildfire crisis for bad media coverage: stage a fake press conference. It goes like this: plant the "reporters" (FEMA employees) to ask softball questions and let the FEMA official, No. 2 man Harvey Johnson, appear to be in control ( "Are you happy with FEMA's response so far"? Harvey: Yes, very happy. Next question..") Real reporters were only given 15 minutes notice to call into the press conference, and then had to sit on the phone and listen--no questions allowed in the FEMA press conference model. This helps keep things rolling along a lot more smoothly.

We'll see if this model catches on anywhere else, maybe even corporate America. Imagine when Steve Jobs hears about it--no more whiny reporters to deal with (or maybe we could have the Fake Steve Jobs hold a fake Apple press conference and see where it goes).

Meantime, Federal Emergency Management Agency chief David Paulison is ripping his own agency for the debacle and No. 2 man Johnson is complaining that he knew nothing about it (wait--how did he know that "reporter" to call on by name?).

Where's "Brownie" when we need him?

And here's the latest kicker: FEMA held another press conference featuring Michael Chertoff, head of Homeland Security, but-- get this--they only invited a select number of reporters and only one TV news crew (AP), according to CNN (check this video out).

Oh, and the guy responsible for it all, Pat Philbin, won't be getting a new job as director of public affairs for the head of national intelligence. We'll see if he holds a press conference to announce his next move.