AMY GAHRAN: The Right Conversation

links for 2007-02-01

• The Pink Ghetto: Welcome to NSFW : Sexerati: Smart Sex.
  "Trying to build your life, your career, around a discussion of sex means accepting that you will always have a fringe identity. That no matter how clean you keep it, you will always be on the edges of polite society. You'll always be in the Pink Ghetto."
  (tags: censorship human+nature society reputation relationship+building problems shortsighted diversity)

links for 2007-01-31

• The Laws of Simplicity » laws
  Really interesting blog that supports a book
  (tags: books blogs publishing PR+marketing findability)

links for 2007-01-30

• Steve Outing » Why I don’t write books
  "A reader asked for my advice on the topic of paid vs. free niche content. He asked if I’d written a book on the topic. Nope, I responded, and pointed as explanation why to the quarterly royalty check for my one book, received the other day: 55 cents."
  (tags: books writing business publishing economics)

links for 2007-01-29

• Top 10 Actionable Tips (Rules) That Make Me Top Digg User « Marketallica
  "Last month i started to submit news to Digg. My aim was to climb top100 digg user, because i believe being top Digg user is (will be) very valuable achievement. Within a month i climbed to 73. :
  (tags: social+media tips)
• Digg reddit (Paul Graham)
  "Someone submitted a story to Digg that simply links to reddit. I suggest we test Digg by modding up this link, and seeing if they censor it too. They can hardly claim a competing (and arguably, better) news aggregator wouldn't interest" Digg readers."
  (tags: social+media competition controversy problems problem+solving)
• The Downfall of Digg is Forthcoming and Here is Why
  "Problem: a select few groups are controlling the contents of various Digg sections. There is no motivation for the millions of other users who aren't a part of a digg-army, because people aren't using the digg system like it was designed."
  (tags: social+media social+networks nefarious problems)
• One Huge Reason Reddit is Better than Digg | steve-olson.com
  "on Reddit, a minority opinion cannot suppress the majority of users. Minority dissent will only minimize how far the post can climb the ladder."
  (tags: social+media conversational+media human+nature controversy tidbits+fodder)
• Digg A New Platform for Discrimination
  "why were these sites buried and banned? Simply because influential Diggers decided the content was "unworthy" of inclusion within their precious little sphere of social media, elitist style."
  (tags: social+media tidbits+fodder human+nature problems censorship)

links for 2007-01-28

• All Headline News - Google Starts Integrating YouTube Content
  "Google vice president of product management, Salar Kamangar indicated that online video-sharing service will remain the domain of YouTube while the Google Video shifts its focus to search."
  (tags: video sharing search business tidbits+fodder)
• Official Google Blog: Controlling how search engines access and index your website
  "This is the first of a series of posts on how to use robots.txt to control access to your content."
  (tags: search info+access tools)
• Official Google Blog: A look ahead at Google Video and YouTube
  "Google search results already include links to content that's hosted on YouTube. Starting today, YouTube video results will appear in the Google Video search index: when you click on YouTube thumbnails, you will be taken to YouTube.com to experience the
  (tags: video sharing search findability tools)

Chase Visa, Complaints, Splogs, and Google: An Amusing Mix

I'm not kidding -- check out what comes up third in a Google Search for "Chase Visa." Amazing. Click the thumbnail above to see a full-size screen grab.

OK, this is such a classic example of why organizations need to pay attention to the public conversation that I can't resist noting it.

I just Googled for "Chase Visa," the credit card division of a major bank. Check out what the #3 result that search is, as of today: My Bad Experiences with Chase Visa, by Ted Montgomery. He originally posted it Sept. 9, 2006 and updated it a few times since. It's pretty detailed, and I didn't plow through it all, but it's fair to say his tale is quite specific and unflattering.

I was amazed by this search ranking. Montgomery's page is just a static web page. It's not a blog, there's no feed. The text doesn't look particularly search-engine optimized in any way. And yet, there it is, damn close to the top. If I were doing PR for Chase Visa, that would really scare me.

So I had to look into this a little further...

links for 2007-01-25

• Wikipedia Under Attack for No-follow Links Attribute - Associated Content
  "Wikipedia adopted the nofollow link policy in an attempt to combat spammy links that has been left in their system. Unfortunately, their decision raised a few emotional debates on whether this was the appropriate way to deal with this matter."
  (tags: wiki spam controversy conversational+media)
• John Battelle's Searchblog: NYT: No, No, NO!!!
  "The approach the NYT takes, editorially, to describing "user generated content" (what I prefer to call Conversational Media) is so dismissive, so backhanded, it makes me want to scream."
  (tags: tidbits+fodder conversational+media content+biz media+evolution shortsighted)
• John Battelle's Searchblog: Packaged Goods Media vs. Conversational Media, Part One (Updated)
  "major media companies are unparalleled in running companies in the Packaged Goods Media world. But running major Conversational Media companies require quite a different set of skills, and understanding radically different economic and business models."
  (tags: tidbits+fodder conversational+media business career media+evolution media)
• John Battelle's Searchblog: Packaged Goods Media v. Conversational Media: Part Two
  "If you have a major company based on packaged good media, succeeding in the world of conversational media is going to be exceedingly difficult, because it forces you to embrace entirely unnatural acts."
  (tags: conversational+media media+evolution media content+biz economics tidbits+fodder)

links for 2007-01-23

• Stowe Boyd: PR Hyperbole Reaches New Heights
  "I have never asserted that communicating with people via blogs won't lead to problems: they are just significantly better problems than the ones surrounding conventional PR; and there will be fewer PR people involved."
  (tags: PR+marketing problems disagreement)
• Jeneane Sessum: OMG Stowe said the P Word
  "The call for a social media press release is a straw man. It is easier to fix formatting and links in an OldPR tool than it is to figure out how to bring an old-world discipline into new territory."
  (tags: PR+marketing media+evolution problems)
• /Message: Social Media and Public Relations: The Press Release Is Dead
  "The social press release is too timid . What we need is a more secure, reliable form of identity associated with social media -- in general -- that could confirm if info was postedby a real person, acting as a co spokesperson"
  (tags: PR+marketing credibility identity)
• Susan Mernit's Blog: Google integrates Orkut--and #of users starts to matter as engagement metrics rise
  "Counting registered users--not just page views--is probably going to become more important to Google as they build their advertising products--and then need to demonstrate additional forms of growth to the market."
  (tags: social+media business economics advertising)

links for 2007-01-15

• "The Importance of Good Blog Entry Titles" from The Intuitive Life Business Blog
  "I'll show you why not paying close attention to this terrible mistake can not only affect what % of your subscribers actually read your content, but also whether search engines can accurately ID the subject of your material and drive traffic to you."
  (tags: writing editing search usability findability relevance feeds microcontent)
• Has Google forgotten all about MeasureMap? at The Blog Herald
  "Had Google not acquired Measure Map, it would have been completely finished by now (as it’s perpetually in Alpha mode for ages). A pity if you ask me considering the kind of tool it’s been."
  (tags: tools analysis statistics business problems)

links for 2007-01-14

• the Constant Observer: The "Wiki-ization" of Yahoo's Business Plan??
  A whole different take on conversational media: Yahoo shareholders organizing via YouTube, blogs, and a wiki to overhaul Yahoo's business plan and push for top management changes.
  (tags: business conversational+media economics wikis blogs video sharing collaboration tidbits+fodder)

Discussion List Tips: Web Reading and Feeds

One way to cut e-mail overload: Here's what it looks like when you read a discussion list on the web, rather than by e-mail. (Click to enlarge)

For more than a decade, e-mail discussion lists have been a mainstay of conversational media -- and I think they're likely to continue to remain popular. E-mail is approachable even to total online newbies.

However, since everyone is on e-mail overload, discussion lists end up presenting a problem: clutter. Sure, you can cut down on list clutter via daily digest postings -- but if it's a busy list, scrolling through a digest posting gets to be tedious.

Since I am constantly overwhelmed by e-mail, I find that feeds or web-based reading can be better ways to participate. Of course, these options aren't available from every list service.

If you value the online discussions you've joined but can't handle the e-mail, here's some advice...

Second Life Frustration: Video Tutorials, Please?

My current Second Life Avatar, with neither a name nor appearance she likes, is thoroughly confused by this environment.

Since Second Life, the virtual online world populated with avatars and live events, has become so popular, I decided I should check it out. It seems a natural fit with my work in conversational media, because conversation and interaction are reported to be the lifeblood of that "world."

I'm just getting started, but so far I'm pretty frustrated.

Here's the issue: I'm not a gamer. That is, I'm not into video games, multi-player or otherwise. I never have been. I never cared for role-playing games like Dungeons & Dragons either. It's just not my thing.

Therefore, I don't tend to naturally enjoy the process of learning how to navigate a virtual environment. That's not fun for me, it's drudgery....

READ THE REST OF THIS ARTICLE at my other blog, Contentious. You can also leave a comment there, if you like. (I've moved one comment posted to this blog over to that blog, to consolidate the conversation despite cross-posting.)

links for 2007-01-12

• India: citizen journalism portal to democracy - Editors Weblog
  "Merinews.com, launched last May, claims to be India’s first English-language citizen journalism online portal. The website offers a platform open to discussion for people to interact and opinionate. "
  (tags: citizen+journalism India)
• Wordblog » Blog Archive » Backfence problems set-back ‘citizen journalism’
  "we probably need to go back to something more akin to the parish magazine. Editorially such projects may succeed in communities of probably not more than 5,000. And that would need the support of an experienced journalist or a gifted amateur."
  (tags: citizen+journalism community content+strategy scale mycoverage)

links for 2007-01-11

• Citizen Media Watch » Trouble at Backfence?
  "The blog I, reporter has a good point about interaction being a key issue..."
  (tags: mycoverage citizen+journalism)

links for 2007-01-10

• brandchannel.com | SelfLead: The emergence of the sovereign citizen | Ray Podder | brand | brands | branding
  "What if anything and everything you owned, knew, thought, created or used was negotiable at any point in time? What if you could sell off your junk, get paid for your opinions? What if your creative product had a larger audience than corp. networks?"
  (tags: tidbits+fodder economics business content+biz brands PR+marketing)

links for 2007-01-08

• Capture the Conversation Internet Marketing Blog: Get LinkedIn to Your Competition
  "Since LinkedIn is indexed by the search engines, it provides one more way to provide visibility when users search for information relevant to you or your field."
  (tags: search career networking social+media social+networks findability tidbits+fodder)
• Ten Ways to Use LinkedIn (Guy Kawasaki)
  "it is a tool that is under-utilized, so I’ve compiled a top-ten list of ways to increase the value of LinkedIn."
  (tags: social+media social+networks career business search PR+marketing serendipity tidbits+fodder tools tips)
• LinkedIn Answers: Showcase your expertise
  "It seems like a potential killer-app. You even get voted as an expert if your answers are useful to those who are asking them. If they link it to a person's public profile, that will add more dimension to existing 'recommendations' at Linkedin."
  (tags: social+media social+networks tools LinkedIn)
• Linked Intelligence: LinkedIn Answers? Or LinkedIn Spammers?
  "These are people who still just don’t get the fundamental difference between networking and being an idiot selling. It’s also NOT a way to get a free job listing or post your resume — come on, people — are you really that clueless?!?"
  (tags: LinkedIn PR+marketing advertising community tools problems spam)

Clueless PR: Attached Files = DELETE!

The subject line was intriguing, but I immediately trashed this announcement because of the attached file and lack of real content. (Click to enlarge)

If you're a PR pro and you want to get some media or blog coverage of your news, it helps to communicate in a way that works for the people you're trying to engage or influence. Annoying people or generally appearing clueless is unlikely to work.

Thus, I had to laugh when I received an e-mail with the potentially intriguing headline: "NorthWest News Group Redefines Online for Weeklies." Since I edit the Poynter Institute's weblog E-Media Tidbits, which covers online-media developments of interest to mainstream news pros, I'm interested in trends about how weeklies and other papers are grappling with online media.

But a second later, I decided that the format in which this message was transmitted to me completely undermined its credibility...