How start-ups play in the new media circle

My esteemed friend and former colleague Benet Wilson yesterday points us to a column in the Washington Post written by media critic Howard Kurtz. In it, Kurtz discusses start-up media ventures.

At a time where media companies are cutting back and laying off in droves, many former newspaper reporters are creating new start-up ventures aimed at keeping alive the idea of investigative journalism.

Kurtz mentions the Voice of San Diego. I had some prior interaction with one of their education reporters, Emily Alpert. In doing some investigative writing for my former blog, Guilford School Watch, I followed the story of a former local school superintendent who, then, was just hired away from central North Carolina bound for San Diego. I was also quoted as part of Alpert's investigative story.

These start-up news sites have intrinsic value. Not only that, we should applaud and support those individuals that have the sense and dedication to bring us the complete story and the inside picture of what is happening in our communities.

E.C. :)

Happy 40th Birthday to...the Internet???

Yes, that's right. The technology that you're using to read this blog is 40 years old.

CNN political commentator Jack Cafferty blogs about this today:

The system that has revolutionized almost every part of our lives turned 40 years old this week. October 29, 1969 was the first time people sent a computer-to-computer message. It was in California that UCLA Professor Leonard Kleinrock successfully connected the school's host computer to one at Stanford University.

The project had started a few years earlier: After Russia successfully launched Sputnik in the late 1950s, U.S. leaders stepped up funding to enter a technology race with their Cold War rival.

Fast forward 40 years - and It's pretty hard to imagine society without everything we're used to about the Internet...

Cafferty asks how your life would be different if we didn't have the Internet. I'll ask YOU the same question. What would your life be like today if the Internet were nonexistent?

E.C. :)

A debate on elevator speeches

For the first time in my adult life...I gave an elevator speech. In fact, only a few weeks ago, I learned exactly what one was, and how to deliver an effective elevator speech.

I must've been living under a rock.

It takes a lot of practice, much skill, and effective eye-contact to deliver a good speech. Or does it?

Career insider Keven Kermes, who publishes the blog Build the Career You Deserve, says the entire concept needs to be "re-thought." Why?

Kermes:

I agree with the concept of getting your message across quickly, succinctly and powerfully.  Where this concept loses me (as well as most people receiving it) is that it isn’t tailored for the listener.  This is particularly important in your job search, since there are a lot of “speeches” being pitched to hiring managers and you must differentiate yourself.  In my opinion, taking a more solution based approach will do just that.

In past articles, I have talked about the importance of developing Your Solution.  This is what you do best – maybe even better than anyone else.   If you think about that skill set like a product, there are things it (you) does and doesn’t do.  It only makes sense then to target hiring managers who are experiencing the pain and problems that Your Solution addresses. 

So, instead of firing off a generic pitch with what you do, take a more pinpoint approach.  Begin by asking 2-3 questions that identify if that hiring manager is experiencing problems that you can fix.   The answers will either allow you to highlight your accomplishments and what you can do for their company or help you determine that it isn’t the right job for you.  The former is just as important as the latter. 

I'm obligated to include this:


Kevin Kermes publishes the ‘Build the Career Your Deserve’ e-zine with over 21,000+ subscribers. If you are ready to empower yourself with the vital tools and information necessary to find the job you want and build the successful career you deserve, visit him now www.kevinkermes.com 

Do you think elevator speeches are effective? Let's chat about it.

E.C. :)

New Star Alliance member Continental Airlines sponsors Twitter contest

To help celebrate this week's announcement of Continental Airlines becoming an official member of the Star Alliance, the airline is holding a ticket and gift card giveaway on Twitter.

To participate, just follow @continental and tweet #StarTreatment (no registration required). Each Tweet receives an entry to win with a limit of 5 per day. For details visit http://ping.fm/l4zQr or http://twitter.com/continental .

Just another example of airlines participating in social media.


E.C. :)

More changes may be coming to Facebook (PC World)

If you're still pissed about last week's changes to the main user page of Facebook, I've got news for you. Those changes may only be the beginning.

Found an article by Tony Bradley in this week's PC World, in which he says the company has unveiled a development roadmap.

PC World:

Facebook gathered developers together to share changes and improvements it plans to roll out over the next two quarters. The event, dubbed Facebook Developer Garage Palo Alto - Roadmap Edition, was also streamed over the Web simultaneously via Ustream.

Facebook co-founder, CEO and president Mark Zuckerberg kicked things off by providing some background regarding where Facebook is now and the vision for the future. Zuckerberg began by saying "Facebook Platform is quickly becoming, along with Connect, is quickly becoming one of the most important parts of our strategy."

Plus this:

Holding an event such as this and presenting the roadmap is a great way to make the transition easier. Last Friday Facebook introduced changes to the main user homepage with little warning for users which led to frustration and complaints from many users.

Facebook could foster some goodwill with the 300 million plus users if it proactively shared upcoming changes the way it shared this roadmap with developers. It would also be nice if Facebook would borrow a page from Google's playbook and prepare little video tutorials to explain the changes and educate users about how to take advantage of them to maximize their Facebook experience.

Facebook has a link to Ustream where you can view the recorded presentation in its entirety.

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E.C. :)

Check out PR-101 for lots of stuff on social media

Jeff Cole, a former reporter and current owner of the Milwaukee-based JJC Communications, authors the blog PR-101. And Cole truly preaches the gospel on social media.

Read what Cole says on which social media platforms a company should use:

The four applications that will remain on top, and therefore should always be used are: LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. The platform is a blog. So, why these four and a blog?

Because by using those five tools in concert, you can build a comprehensive, effective social media campaign. Sure, they are other tools that can be used – in fact; some of will make your campaign even more effective. But, think of this like learning to fly. No one starts on a jet. You start out with a single engine plane and work your way up.

The goal of a social media campaign is to demonstrate why someone should buy your product or hire your service. They days of when a company could say: “hey, I am great. Buy my product” are gone. The public won’t go for that anymore. You are using social media strategies and tactics so your company stands out. You want outsiders to give you kudos on Linked, Facebook and your blog. You want them to highly rate your products. All of this shows others that yours is a company to be trusted.

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E.C. :)

The business benefits of LinkedIn

A blog article I found today touts the business benefits of the Web site LinkedIn. The networking opportunities found on this site are tremendous. In addition, the business opportunities seem to be beneficial as well.

A friend recently asked publicly if LinkedIn had any benefits at all, even saying it was difficult to navigate. Look at this piece and you decide:

I’ll start with the biggest issue, getting business. I am quite sure that most people are not finding the networking activities on LinkedIn profitable. There is a very simple reason for this – most of them aren’t networking and don’t understand how to create non threatening situations where opportunities for business arise.

I base this on the fact that during the almost two years I have been on LinkedIn very few people have approached me using any of the methods I teach other to use. The majority of the messages I get from others actually qualify as SPAM and almost no one engages in any kind of relationship building activity.

If you aren’t focused on building valued relationships first, you are going to find it difficult to approach and generate opportunities.

Additionally, most people don’t really understand that to get business on LinkedIn in you must “attract” opportunities and to do that you need visibility. Visibility comes from the right kinds of participation and from specific promotional activities that are possible within LinkedIn.

Words to live by.

E.C. :)

Welcome to Communications Express

By now, you know that Communications Express has had a soft launch. Well, today's the day that C/Exp is officially unveiled.

This is my sixth launch of a new blog since 2006. And each launch I've done, there has been a brief welcome, then I dived right in to the focus of that particular blog. And it hasn't taken long for each of my past blogs to develop and find its niche.

This blog is different. It is unlike any of the past and present blogs I've authored, which have been political in nature.

This is a career and business-centered blog. It is not written on behalf of any business or company. And while Google's AdSense ads are found here (and I encourage you to click on the ads and support them where and when necessary), this blog is very independent of any of those advertisers. I am solely responsible for the content here.

At a time where unemployment (a subject I know all too well unfortunately) is running rampant, even here in Southern Nevada, I felt it was time to focus on how businesses are communicating in this new economy.

I'm a 12 year communications specialist. You've seen my bio. I'm a writer, a former journalist and I happen to love the field of public relations. So much so that I have actively sought out the perfect PR position for a while now...it hasn't happened yet. And in this down economy, it probably may never happen in my lifetime--maybe in the next life! And while I'm not positioning this blog as a resume or myself as a job-seeker, I am a solutions provider, and the solutions I provide is good communication on behalf of your company.

Therefore, I've taken to the blog-waves to write about trends in PR, marketing, communications and media. All of the buzz lately has been on social media. Facebook, Twitter, blogging and LinkedIn are all part of this new media companies are now trying to exploit. It seems to be working. Quite frankly, if you, as a company, are not blogging, or not participating in some form of social media, you are missing a golden opportunity to be successful.

C/Exp will post articles and links quite frequently. I encourage you to participate and comment on these issues and others. The success of C/Exp will depend on you.

Many of you who have followed my blogs will follow this one too. I'm excited about C/Exp and I look forward to its success.

E.C. :)

Good Grammar is Hot

Earlier in the month, I posted an entry on my sister blog, The Vegas Valley View, discussing proper communication in the workplace and obvious appropriate situations. I discussed the fact that me, as a former one-time high school English/creative writing teacher, it was a struggle to teach grammar and writing in a test-hungry environment such as today's public schools.

Now comes this group on Facebook named "Good Grammar is Hot." No joke. I joined today. Some of the topics du jour: making the case for passive versus active voice, when adverbs are appropriate, gerunds and overall elements of style.

For those of you on Facebook, take a look.

E.C. :)

Transitioning from Journalism to PR: Can it be done?

My friend and former colleague Benet Wilson, who has been in journalism and PR for nearly a quarter of a century, discusses how one can transition and make the switch from journalism to public relations.

On her blog, "Musings of a New Media Maven" (found on my Blogroll on the lower-left part of your screen), she says making that transition is not as easy as it can be. I would certainly agree that it may not be as easy as it seems.

Wilson:

But as journalism continues to hemorrhage jobs -- 13, 868 so far in 2009, according to Paper Cuts -- I now hear those same journalists who pilloried me for my trips to "the dark side" saying they now want to look at public relations as an option. I also heard this a lot when I attended this year's National Association of Black Journalists annual convention, and I've been meaning to do a post on this very topic. What I have to say to these journalists is -- PR is not as easy as you might think it is.

The biggest mistake journalist make is thinking that just because they can write, they can just take those skills right over to PR and smoothly transition in. No, no and NO. Some of the skills do transfer over -- writing/editing, attention to detail and curiosity.

But in the end, you are the slave to the company you're working for. If you don't believe in the company/organization, you will never last. As such, you will have to write things that you'd never write as a reporter.

==============================

E.C. :)

Tweeting twice?

I may have been a little guilty of this because I've been spreading the word (via Twitter) about Communications Express, and this week's launch of this new blog.

Now comes my friend Ryan Shell of Greensboro, NC. A marketing-PR executive at an area credit union, Shell talks about Tweeting information twice.

Shell (via his blog):

One of the great things about Twitter is the vast amount of information that can be shared and the speed at which it flows. On the flip side, couldn’t that almost be a negative for a business? For instance, let’s say that company X sends a Tweet about Y at 10 am, but you aren’t online or the speed of the stream causes you to miss the information.

To try and combat this problem Company X could send a second tweet about Y at 2 pm (times are just an example). They have now increased the chance that you, and others that may have missed the original tweet, will at least be able to see the info that is being shared.

I'll solicit comments on this too.

E.C. :)

Craigslist scammers posing as "marketers"

The current state of the economy is obviously hitting everyone very very hard. For those in the field of marketing, communications and PR, we're all watching and waiting with baited breath to see what will happen next (or which shoe will drop next).

So it is very unfortunate that scammers are taking advantage of those who can least afford to be taken advantage of. Particularly, these are scammers posing as marketers on the popular Web site Craigslist.

I received a telephone call this morning from a gentleman (I won't give his name) who responded to a letter of inquiry I sent recently. The ad was in the "Marketing/PR/Ad" category. He tells me that he runs a marketing company and he's regularly posting on behalf of another company on Craigslist, and since he can only post once a day, he's "hiring" people to post similar ads on his behalf.

Here's the s--- kicker, he wants you to cough up $25 daily, upfront, to post the ad on his behalf, then he will reimburse you that $25 on the back end, plus allegedly pay you another $25, daily, into a PayPal account.

It reeks of scam. Nothing at all involving "marketing" or anything legitimate. It stank to high heavens.

And that's not to mention the weight loss scam that's also floating around Craigslist. There's a scammer targeting people who are trying to lose weight and will allegedly pay you $1,500 as part of a weight-loss study. Easy money, right? Who couldn't use a quick $1,500?

What they don't tell you is that you have to purchase "weight-loss drugs" that have not been evaluated by the FDA, pay only the shipping and handling (which after further investigation, they continuously bill your credit card even after the first shipment for future shipments, even if you do not want the product) and no one is paid this $1,500 at all. No one.

And this one was almost easy to fall victim to because I'm in the middle of a weight-loss program (through diet and exercise), and I could use a quick $1,500 right about now.

Lessons to be learned...stay off Craiglist for one. Do not trust scammers posing as marketers. Legitimate marketing executives will hopefully shun this site so that those who are looking for legitimate employment will have a better amount of success.

E.C. :)

Tips for new Twitter users

As I provide a tease prior to this blog's grand opening this Friday, my friend Reggie Greene in Greensboro, NC (who authors the blog, http://www.theviewfromoutsidemytinywindow.blogspot.com/) points us to an article written this past Spring from K. Sean Buvala (http://www.speakersite.com/profiles/blog/list?user=3olyqvyo7qdec) in which he discusses essential tips for new Twitter users.

Like many, I'm a relative newbie to Twitter, and yet, I'm recognizing and harnessing the power of this new social medium.

Buvala:

1. Add in your photo, your location, bio and URL...
2. Frequently check the "@Replies" and "Direct Messages" for your account...
3. Use the @ feature to engage in conversations...
4. Grow your followers naturally instead of playing the "counting" game...
5. Tweet about what you know, sharing links and resources rather than trying to sell something.

E.C. :)

The State of the Valley's PR Firms: Winners and Losers

As I provide a tease prior to this blog's grand opening this Friday, there was an excellent, well-written article in a recent edition of the R-J (via the Las Vegas Business Press) which discusses the state of the Valley's PR firms, in terms of how they are doing and how they are holding up in this economy.

Of particular interest is that fact that many mom-and-pop PR shops have sprouted and multiplied as of late.

R-J:

The news is far from all bad for small and sole-proprietor PR firms; most say they expect to survive the recession. Finding a niche is the secret to success for some. Tami Belt formed Blue Cube Marketing Solutions after working in-house for St. Rose Dominican Hospital and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. She has since taken on, and retained, big clients such as 7-Eleven.

The convenience-store chain was referred to her years ago by The Firm Public Relations and Marketing owner Solveig Thorsrud, Belt recalled.

"It's really cool because all the PR firms help each other. It is more like friends," Belt said.

Even as those referrals may be getting harder to come by, professionals who can hang onto the clients they have -- and specialize -- seem to have an edge.

With Belt, that specialty is in philanthropy.

"I do the charities," as she puts it, with a slight laugh. "I try to show companies how to get involved with the community, and showcase a plan."

I was also struck by this quote:

The number of mom-and-pop PR shops continues to grow -- at least by some accounts. No formal year-over-year figures were available. The Public Relations Society of America's local chapter keeps track of its members, but that doesn't account for nonmembers.

Las Vegas is home to 14 sole proprietor or small PR agencies and 15 larger firms. "Small" in this case is defined by PRSA as three people or fewer, local PRSA President Diane Gibes said. Individual membership is 135.

She sees signs of hope and reason for caution in her industry.

"I did see one of our members get a job recently," Gibes said. "And I saw one person go out of market to get a job."

Public relations is downsizing locally, much like practically any other industry, Gibes added.

Sarah Procopio knows firsthand about consolidation. She had to cut the staff of her 4-year-old True Marketing firm almost in half a year ago, after the recession first hit. Going from 12 to six employees made her keenly aware of the industry's current fragility.

"It's challenging, but we are hanging in there," she said.

Still, True Marketing's sales are down about 40 percent from mid-September last year.

I think finding a served niche, along with social media marketing will be the ultimate key as to which firm survives and thrives in this economy, and which firm tanks. Of course, none of us in this business wants anyone to tank. 

E.C. :)

Grand Opening Friday, 10/30/09

Marketing, communications and PR takes center stage with the grand opening of Communications Express. Set to kick off Friday, 10/30/09. Stay tuned, and add this blog to your bookmarks and blog readers.

E.C. :)

Coming Soon!

Something new and unique is coming soon! Stay tuned...