For the PR pro: New Media tech tips

The New Media realm is rapidly evolving, and I have begun to realize that it is extremely helpful to have knowledge of both how to use new tools AND how they work. The beauty of effective online public relations (utilizing a variety of social media) is the ability to gain wide exposure at basically no expense.

Staying on the edge of what is possible with new media, here is a list of 8 tips that can help a PR pro stay on top of digital brand building:

1. Blog searching. As simple as it may sound, the search engine used to troll industry blogs can be a critical part of evaluating a company's reputation online. Google Blog Search and Technorati are usually good places to start.

2. URL rewriting. People pass along links constantly, using anything from emails, SMS, social bookmarking, etc. However, word of mouth is still the most potent form. Rewriting a web URL to an easy-to-remember format is key to maximize a web page's mobility.

3. Cloud Computing. Simply put, cloud computing is a technology in which tasks are assigned to a combination of connections, software and services accessed over a network. The network of servers and connections is collectively known as "the cloud." Using an access point, such as an iPhone, BlackBerry or laptop, users can "reach" into the cloud for resources as they need them. Extremely handy for tech PR. A good example is Google Applications.

4. Traffic Monitoring. There are a variety of ways to track unique visitors and visitation time of web sites. Keeping track of these statistics is an essential way to continually redesign a page to a format that is most effective for the target audience it is intended to reach.

5. Social Media Applications. The most common example for Gen Y is the use of Facebook applications (coundowns, bumper stickers... basically little additions for a users profile). There are plenty of ways to develop these applications for free, then brand them with a company's message. Almost 90% of Facebook's applications are made by third party developers. It's the same story for applications used in conjunction with the iPod Touch and iPhone.

6. HTML blog and web utilities. The development of simple HTML or XML code can made into handy utilities for people's blogs or websites. By distributing the code for free, users can add them to their personal sites. Again, free exposure. The only catch for these tools (as well as SM apps) is to make the utility actually useful. The more unique, the better.

7. Keeping tabs on new content aggregators. RSS readers, feed readers, and search readers are just a few examples. With the explosion of SM getting larger every day, these tools are undoubtedly going to play a vital role in the consolidation of a user's multiple profiles and feeds.

8. Not SEO... SMO. Social media optimatization can be an enormous benefit to a brand entering the new media market. As most regular users are familiar with the idea, by allowing a web site's visitors to "join" and create a personal profile, loyatly and frequency increase while the bounce rate decreases. Additionally, it makes it much easier for common users to interact with one another. Facebook Chat is a great example of optimization.

And there you have it. If you have a question or would like to leave a comment, please feel free to leave it here or send me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com. Thanks!

The Future of Social Media

If you consider yourself even to be mildly Internet savvy, most people would be shocked if you haven't investigated at least one social media website. By the end of 2008, it is expected that there will be more than 230 million members of social media sites worldwide.

Social media is still a relatively infantile service, but there are literally thousands to choose from for any purpose under the sun, including professional, political, social, special interest, dating, and so on. But with boom of social media, where new sites are launched almost daily around the world, what is the main hype? What about 10 years from now?

One hotly contested topic is how to generate revenue from these sites. There are plenty of business models available (even some that work), but speculation is still widespread since the key characteristic to many popular sites is a free membership policy. Advertising is the largest profit contributor (by a wide margin), which made the social media industry worth more than 970 million dollars in 2007.

Furthermore, thousands of companies have slowly begun to realize the benefit of reaching their target demographics through social media outlets, which has sparked a slow revolution in cyberspace interactivity. Here are some predictions for the future of the social media madness:

1. Content aggregation will take the spotlight. Most companies or groups with a message are mostly interested in using "sexy" marketing campaigns. Viral video contests, build your own site or profile, etc. Content, however, will always trump other features. Searching for content can be a little inefficient for most sites, even for the monsters such Facebook, MySpace and Blogger. Therefore, finding what you're looking for can take some valuable time.

More and more businesses are literally spending millions of dollars creating mediocre widgets and "stuff" simply to throw their name and brand messaging on it. At a fraction of the cost, the same companies could aggregate the most important content in their brand, provide a utility that matters to the site's users, and get tremendous brand equity in return.

2. Mobility and utility equal survival. Within the next decade, it is likely that most online services will have some form of mobile access. Facebook Mobile and Twitter are common examples, but thousands of websites have developed a mini-screen format for their sites as well. While most new designs are made for the iPhone, Blackberry, or Treo, there are text-based versions for almost any phone with a screen and web access.

Because this technology is already available and improving exponentially, it is inevitable that it will be commonplace in the already saturated market of social media.

3. Out with the old, in with the new. Twitter's problems and debugging efforts are well known, but it certainly isn't the only service to only get it half right. With the emergence of newer companies with more sound software and API, it is possible that Twitter will become the Friendster of microblogging. As developers begin to interact in open sourcing (watch the Google Campfire One lecture if you don't believe me), it is a matter of time until popular sites and services are obsolete and new sites take their place.

Love or hate what you have read, please feel free to leave a comment or send me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com. New site design will be up soon!

No such thing as an expert

"Nothing is sacred anymore."

Ironically, people must have been saying that 200 years ago. With the explosion of the Internet, there have been just as many inherent pitfalls as there have been benefits. Communication, commerce and efficiency are all common advantages when it comes to going digital. Unfortunately, the Internet is also intricately woven with misleading content, outright lies, and cyberspace traps. But you already knew that, right?

One of the biggest ongoing struggles facing the web today is establishing a standard for ethics and information distribution. While there are stories of predators, scams, and data theft, an unusually common annoyance is the self-proclaimed expert.

No one likes a know-it-all

From entertainment, to politics, the economy, or advertising (and the list goes on), no industry is safe. People everywhere on the Internet, and even in person, claim to have an expertise on some topic, but according to whose standards? Their own?

People are only experts on their own opinions. One may know a plethora about the medical field and have four Ph.Ds, but they will never know everything about the subject. Of course, the question becomes obvious; what is an expert? According to Webster's expertise: Expert: a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority.

Because every individual interprets "expert" differently, it would be more accurate for a person to say they have "very specific experience and knowledge in a particular field." Otherwise, there might as well be no credibility to the title whatsoever.

The Bottom Line

It's as though some people claim expertise the same way that Knights claimed a kingdom in medieval England - by force, and mostly without the consent of others.

Love or hate what you have read, please leave a comment or feel free to send me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com!

Twittiquette

As fast as social media has emerged and is expanding, no one can legitimately call themselves an expert. Furthermore, in spite of the innovative tools (created almost daily) to reach our friends and/or target demographic, there are inherent flaws in the social media universe.

The key characteristic of any social media tool is that the content is solely or primarily user-generated. As wonderful and opportunistic as this is in regard to reaching a broad audience quickly, there is the harmful potential for messages to be lost in translation. Effective communication, whether it be verbal, digital, print, or personal, must be based on commonly accepted rules or practices. SM tools are used by an endless variety of people, therefore, the cultural rules of any tool is essentially created the more often it is used.

Time to pick on Twitter

Everyone has a different reason for joining Twitter. No matter the activity, members of the Twitter community either use the program to stay in touch with friends, reach target audiences for commodity or business news, or to communicate instantaneously with members of a particular industry. Some may utilize it once a year, others 100 times daily. Despite who is "following" you, almost anyone can read your Tweets. Therefore, certain rules should be followed in order to maintain the respect of those you wish to reach.

The obvious rules that many don't follow:

1. Don't use swear words. Ever. Cursing will never help your image or reputation.
2. Don't Tweet about colleagues or friends derogatorily. As mentioned, anyone can find it. It's a quick way to get fired, make fast enemies, and ultimately embarrass yourself for gossiping like a 7th grade girl in gym class.
3. Don't send direct Tweets if it only applies to you and that person. If you have something to say to a person that concerns no one else, send them an email or a private text message. People who receive your updates on their phones will be quickly annoyed. Especially if you have the recipients number.

When NOT to Tweet:

1. Because you're bored. These messages are almost guaranteed to be meaningless and a counterproductive contribution.
2. While your drinking, going to drink, or drunk. Especially if you're drunk. It's not hard to tell what someone is doing when you read a Tweet such as "gionig to get pizzza and see my BFF!!!!" (SENT at 2:21am) Think of Twitter as you would Facebook or MySpace. Not the kind of material that you want employers to read.
3. Every 10 seconds. No one cares (other than your mom) to know when you just ate an apple, walked upstairs, or are yawning. Atleast try to make it interesting.

Twitter lingo (not the same at IM slang):

1. Twitterspeak- Using language found only in Tweets, words not typically used in normal conversation
2. Tweet- A Twitter messages
3. Twoosh- A tweet that is exactly 140 characters
4. Twude- A guy on Twitter. Twitter Dude.
5. Twerd- A word used mainly on Twitter. Anything in this list.
6. Twarf- A single word Tweet
7. Twerk- A Twitter jerk

Click here for a twictionary.

Love or hate what you have read? Please leave a comment or send me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com. Follow me on Twitter or read my Tweets by clicking here. twitter.com/PaulMatson

The Morality Myth

For both the daily news aficionado and the occasional newspaper headline skimmer, it is easy to recall some of the biggest media blunders throughout history. Being the 21st century, America has experienced everything from a simple Freudian slip from a news anchor to disastrous copy editing errors in a newspaper headline. More than not, these mistakes are accepted as reminders of our human imperfection and parodies are even made to commemorate some of our favorite public slip-ups.

The 2007 controversy with Don Imus, however, is an entirely different story. Shock jock or not, we all know that the radio veteran found himself unemployed and in the middle of national social backlash after a brief inappropriate comment made about the Rutgers women's basketball team.

The details are not difficult to unravel; most of MSNBC's advertisers associated with Imus in the Morning pulled out within hours, media statements were prepared, and personal apologies began to hit the airwaves.

The Corporate Tremble

If one knows anything about both corporate and private media, a colossal amount of revenue is generated from network ad space sales. Simply put: no advertisers, no show. More than a year after Imus' radio faux pas, he is consequently back on the air. However, this time advertisers are timid to commit their financial loyalty. Big surprise. Most Americans would like to believe that Imus' being fired, public embarrassment, and slow return to the spotlight are all part of his moral punishment.

Not so fast. Put yourselves in the shoes of MSNBC. If Imus' dispicable comments resonated with less controversy throughout society, it's almost guaranteed that he would never have been removed from his show. Furthermore, advertisers would be just as eager as ever to throw cash at the radio show. Timid behavior from the news corporation's leaders and their advertisers is simply a reflection of how the public might react and not necessarily a reaction of their moral code.

The bottom line is this: Living in a capitalist society means everyone is in the business of something. And that, of course, means you either turn a profit or get out squeezed out of the industry. A corporation's dramatic decision to cancel a show such as Imus' or make major changes in the company are decisions made on grounds of perceived profitabilty, not moral standards.

I'm not saying that MSNBC or any other conglomerate is bigotted or racist, but the truth is companies will tend to choose their path in the marketplace based on risk management and profit potential... not necessarily moral grounds.

Cutting Imus was, in essence, a move to cut a severe loss in ratings. Advertisers on the show pulling out was a natural reaction to save face in public association. No one wants to be caught talking to the kid on the playground that everyone hates. Furthermore, bringing Imus back is in part a result of financial analysts predicting a monetary comeback if Imus was reinstated.

Get the picture?

Love or hate what you've read, please leave a comment or feel free to drop me an email at pauljmatson@gmail.com.