Facebook is still the most useful new web project for me. I keep up with all of my old friends and current friends there. It's only boring to people who like to be on the cutting edge of the web. - Andrew Burd
Holy Cow!! Congrats on reaching 100,000,000 Facebook users - that's simply awesome!! yeah!! very impressive milestone!! :) - Susan Beebe
From Boing Boing: "Extreme ironing might be the coolest sport that didn't make it into the Olympics this year. Started over a decade ago by UK knitwear factory worker Phil Shaw, it requires four simple criteria: a man, an iron, an ironing board, and a crazy natural environment that makes people think, holy crap I can't believe he's ironing on that thing! Shaw calls extreme ironing "the latest danger sport that combines the thrills of an extreme outdoor activity with the satisfaction of a well pressed shirt."" - Mark Trapp via Bookmarklet
For anyone who loves Cheryl Mendelson's Laundry or Home Comforts books - Phil Wolff
“Wonderful. The Media Temple database server just crashed and screwed up my site (AGAIN). Is there any web hosting company out there that knows what they're doing?”
Slicehost. But then again, you need to know what you're doing to use them. If you are comfortable setting up your own server then I'd highly recommend them. There are plenty of instructions on http://articles.slicehost.com/ for everything - Benjamin Golub
It really depends on what type of hosting you're looking for (and how much you're willing to pay). For VPSes, I've been using Byetmark in the UK for years. For dedicated, colo, and other hardcore things, I use Rackspace. Both are really stellar. - Mark Trapp
Ben, I need to keep Slicehost in mind. It sounds really good. Only a couple of things that keep me away from signing up right now: time, because of the extra layer of overhead that comes with managing the server myself, and bandwidth, which isn't that much. Mark, I heard great things about Rackspace, but they're beyond my price point right now. I've been resisting the jump to $50/month for hosting (for a VPS), but I may need to make it at some point in the near future. - Raoul Pop
Yahoo killed my database. No defaults for automatic backup. - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
Raoul: there is some overhead (basically I just subscribe to the Ubuntu security mailing list and whenever I get an email I update my server). But bandwidth is included in the price so that shouldn't be a concern. Slicehost is only $20 which gets you a VPS that is more than capable of handling the Digg effect. - Benjamin Golub
Benjamin, your pitch has got me reconsidering some of my VPS choices. Have you had any issues with downtime (caused by Slicehost, not your VPS)? How long have you been using Slicehost? - Mark Trapp
Ben, that's true, but there'd be the setup and config of Apache as well, not to mention that Ubuntu can be a pain in the rear when it comes to networking. - Raoul Pop
For VPS I love Johncompanies.com... If you want a more managed environment check out Contegix, who provides excellent service. - Jason Carreira
Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone! - Raoul Pop
do your clients deserve your full attention just because they pay for it? Or do they have to earn your attention by being sociable, thoughtful, purposeful? - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
They're the only things Americans are winning gold in. - Sprague D
I heard those are the only events they put on TV because they are the only ones that Americans will sit thru commercials for. - mike
i so want to see excellent coverage of fencing. slow things down 10 times, show who has the initiative, enable thrust-by-thrust commentary. - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
Phil, you want Olympic Variety? Go online. They are putting up about 2,200 hours of Olympic sports. TV is only for the big audience pleasers. Phelps. Phelps. Phelps. And more Phelps. :-) - Robert Scoble
i agree. that's what brings in the ratings though. that's what nbc is interested in otherwise they'd show the events live - Cee Bee
I'd also suggest DVRing the daytime coverage. Lots of variety there, as well. Prime time is meant for getting the highest ratings. - Mark Trapp
I don't know about where you live or what TV service you use, but Verizon has 4 channels right now just dedicated to the Olympics. Two of those are dedicated to specific sports, one is for soccer and I can't remember what the other one is, off the top of my head. - AlexScoble(Robert'sBro)
track and field already started, CBC was showing 100m prelims last night. I'm watching indoor cycling right now on universalhd tho. - Richard Lawler via twhirl
archery just finished, those guys are insanely accurate - Richard Lawler via twhirl
Have you tried CNBC and USA (also NBC owned channels) for the *other* sports? - "Czar" DJ Peterman
I'm waiting for the 10,000 meters. Does anyone know when that is to be broadcast? I don't watch TV much, don't have cable, and I don't buy the TV guide, and rarely traverse those sites. - Melanie Reed
track bike time trials are on right now, which is something i really enjoy - Cee Bee
check nbcolympics.com to see when it will be online. - Richard Lawler via twhirl
I hope they show more of the Track Cycling TTs than they did of the road race. - Corie Allison
I hear they're launching Swimnastics in London 2012. Actually, it's just Synchronized Swimming with a new brand and swankier swimcaps. - Kevin Fox
I can't wait for US vs. Saudi Arabia women's beach volleyball. - Matthew Davidson via twhirl
We need to port the entire Ultimate Fighting Championship to the Olympics. - Glenn Batuyong via twhirl
not if they scored it as poorly as they do boxing. the scoring rules are asinine. - Richard Lawler via twhirl
Matthew, you've got to be kidding of course, :) Saudia Arabia, Women's beach volleyball? Not unless there is a radical change in team beach wear.! - Melanie Reed
Hutch, I just went to site Richard recommended and it looks like T&F have already started for the women. :( US took bronze in 10,000 meters on Friday (today for us EST) http://www.nbcolympics.com/tra.... - Melanie Reed
agreed. it's phelps nation at the moment. here, trying to feed off the championship-ness rahter than the hype. - Lee Bautista
I can't find a good picture of a woman in a suitable stance wearing an abaya to photoshop. I'm primarily interested in women's gymnastics, but I found the sync diving captivating. I've been watching badminton online a bit - saw China destroy Malaysia. Anyway, between the tivo and silverlight, there is a good selection. - Matthew Davidson via twhirl
I've had it with beach vollyball. C'mon, that's not really a sport - PC Easy via twhirl
Some people call me Mike. It doesn't particularly bother me, but I prefer Michael. - Michael C. Harris
I always go with a person's handle online (social networks, email). Sometimes someone will have "Michael" in their standard email signature, but actually sign-off with "Mike". That throws me for a loop. - Hutch Carpenter
I'm not sure how someone would shorten my name. Unless they started calling me J. Or maybe Juh. - JMS
Yeah, when people call me "Ma" it really grinds my gears. - Mark Trapp
I prefer "J" to "Wehmhoener". Hearing someone call me by my last name reminds me of high school sports (something I'd rather not be reminded of). - Jason Wehmhoener
I stick with their sign-off in an email...then reply with that. - Brian Ries
I'd prefer to be called by my full name, but "Don" here and there doesn't bother me too much. - Donato (ricin) via twhirl
They do shorten it, but I usually don't mind. Unless it is "Jenny," which I've always hated for some reason. - Jennifer Dittrich
speaking of mike's my "formal" business name is michael but everyone calls me mike - I'm fine with either - there are lots of mike's at my work so folks use last names to eliminate confusion - I'm fine with that too - just don't call me late for dinner ;) - mike "glemak" dunn
People call me "Sheen"...I've also been called "Ra"....can't really complain about either :) - Rahsheen(isSoAwesome)
All the time, thankfully most people go with Rob. Older guys seem to have a thing for calling me Bob, which I promptly correct them on. I am not a Bob. - Rob Diana
Okay, I should have said, if you have more than one syllable in your name :) - Michael C. Harris
For the record, most people know me as Robert in the corporate world, so my name does get shortened :) - Rob Diana
LOL I do get called "she" a lot by a co-worker. 'Course that's not really shortening my name. :-) - JMS
People call me Mar or Mare (however you write it), it doesn't really bother me. I figure it means they like me. But really, my name is two syllables, so it is kind of funny. - Mary Carmen
Tad is already the shorted version. It's my initials - Terry Allan Donaghe. I did work once with a guy who just called me "T." And after a while he started calling me "T T Boy." If you happen to recognize that name it's pretty funny. If you don't I suggest that you DO NOT search Google. Seriously. Not kidding. At all. - Tad - just Tad
I have the opposite problem - they lengthen it. I'm Beth not Elizabeth and certainly not Bethie! UGH. - Beth Tribe
Well, I prefer people call me Dan, but have no problem with Daniel. If they're slightly more daring they are allowed to refer to me as "Dr. Gonzo, Your Royal Sex Machine." But I guess that's not really a shortening, is it? - Dan Messer via twhirl
Instead of the full three syllables, I'm often called "T" or "Ta." I'm ok with that. - MiniMage via NoiseRiver
I used to have a friend who was a French-Canadian Catholic priest. He insisted on calling me John, even though my legal name is Jack. I got used to it. - Jack Carlson
I use my full name, with initial when I'm writing. My name is just too common. From my about page, "The "C" is important. It distinguishes me from the actor, the former Premier of Ontario, the 47 academics in fields ranging from Resource Economics to Engineering, and the drug dealer. But I'm not going to tell you what it stands for." - Michael C. Harris
I hate full names... Only in writing though. If I write an business email I am happy to write Michael, but I will be thinking 'I can't wait until I can write Mike'. I hate typing anything longer than 4 maybe 5 characters... Now that I know Rahsheen doesn't mind Rah or Ra, I may even comment more or respond to his comments more often. I am just lazy that way. Sorry Ra for using you as an example. :) - Roger Kondrat
If you're going to shorten my name, I'd prefer Miguel or Mig. Long story, but probably not very interesting :) - Michael C. Harris
I've been Dave for as long as I can remember, I feel like I'm in trouble when anyone calls me David. - Dave Stevens
Sun God, right? Yeah...like I said...can't complain. Although...sometimes I'm called "Sheeny" which is cute if it's a woman, but I have had dudes call me that...not cool - Rahsheen(isSoAwesome)
People call me Mike all the time. It doesn't bother me a lot, except when they call me Mike immediately after I just introduced myself as Michael. - Michael Hocter
Michael, that's exactly the situation that prompted the question. - Michael C. Harris
I have to remind people that "Bro" is not short for "Bwana" - Bwana McCall
No, but they spell it wrong 1/2 of the time. Either Aron or Erin. Ugh. People just don't get it. - Aaron Myers
I get it shortened. It's when it is pronounced wrong AND shortened with the wrong pronunciation that it bothers me. - Leslie Poston
I'm bad with names. Everyone ends up as 'hey' or 'dude'. - Rodfather
My name is Matthew and I've always gone by Matt (except on my resume where I felt my full name looked more professional). I'm thinking about shortening Matt to just Mmmm. - Matt Musgrave
Leslie, how do they pronounce it wrong, "Less"? My dad is Lester. You do _not_ want to call him Les. - Michael C. Harris
My friends call my Oli, and I love it! - Oli Kenobi
Everybody, all together, "Call me what you like, but don't call me later for dinner!" - Pete Delucchi
YES, people call me Sue and that is soo annoying... my name is Susan, not Sue...augh! - Susan Beebe
I hate it when people call me "ffff" or "fih" short for Phil. It just doesn't sound right. - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
I always introduce myself as Victor, after which most people automatically go to Vic. I found that if I introduced myself as Vic, some people heard it to Dick or Rick, depending of if they already knew someone by that name, and it was hard to get them to change. - Victor Ryden
Growing up, my brothers have referred to me as "Ape" (among other things) - which, naturally, drove me nuts. - April Buchheit
Curious what your thoughts are about the New Yorker cover Dave. - David Cohn
The article is pro-Obama, but I suspect it will only bolster existing ignorance. - Jim McCusker
I've got to say, I found the cover quite funny. It's spot on regarding all the nonsense being spewed about Obama these days. - Jason Huebel
It was meant to be pro-Obama, but I think it was in poor taste. Also, I think it will do nothing (or even be harmful) for eliminating ignorance and misconceptions - Thomas B
@ThomasB: I don't think the key demographic that reads The New Yorker is ignorant. Now there are a lot of people with no sense of humor. That is more likely to be the problem. - Jason Huebel
@Jhuebel Unfortunately the publicity will extend to the masses, where the ignorance lives. - Jim McCusker
@Jason But it's the cover. Everyone sees the cover, not just the key demographic of the magazine. I imagine that someone could see that it and have their misconceptions reinforced, considering that the New Yorker is a reputable news source - Thomas B
Even if this cover is misunderstood, I think it's controversial enough to make the news, possibly allowing informed people to correct these misconceptions in a larger forum. Satire is SUPPOSED to spark debate. That's what makes this cover so impressive. - Jason Huebel
@Jason I certainly hope so. I'm worried (as always) that the misconceptions will overrun the correct information. However, perhaps this will get enough mainstream coverage that even the less politically informed will be forced to pay attention - Thomas B
By concentrating all the smears and rumors into one image they implode. Or is someone out there saying "See, honey, I told you!" - Michael Markman
Someone in FF said that most Americans don't get satire. I agree. Most of my neighbors don't read New Yorker, they watch B O'R. - Helen Is SOOO Not Of Troy
Meh, I think they get it well enough. Lots of people watch Colbert instead of B O'R (and recognize that it's satire) - Thomas B
human beings are pretty dumb, wisdom of the crowds anyone? - Gregory Lent
If you don't think it's a timely, droll comment, you aren't urbane enough to read the New Yorker. - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
I'm with Phil. I have gotten every single one of those anti-Obama emails. I don't think most people will get it, but gah, do I ever. I just responded to the huge email about Michelle Obama's thesis yesterday. - Cyndy
I like that the fuel surcharge is explicit. Compete on peanuts, comfort and headphones in the base fare. Compete on fuel, fuel economy, and carbon tax in the surchage. Can't wait for kayak to help me minimize my fuel spend per trip. - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
“I have 16,011 subscribers and I would like to tell them about smart people to subscribe to. Who are the smartest FriendFeed'ers around? Any physicists? Scientists? Doctors? Economists? Lawyers? Chemists? Material scientists?”
Hey Robert I thought you did not care about number of followers and here you go!!! You can't help it heh. I know it is about who you follow and not who follows you, but you also keep telling me not to worry about numbers that don't matter :) - Loic Le Meur via twhirl
Loic: you'll notice, though, that I'm looking for more smart people to follow. That's what's driving this, not a beg for more followers. And, also, note that I'm trying to add some value to the exhaust I send along to the people who do follow me. I'm trying to find smarter people to listen to, so that my exhaust is smarter too. It's who you follow that defines you. - Robert Scoble
I'm a Physicist, AI & Robotics programmer. Waiting on funding news so I can start my PhD. - Jake Fudge via twhirl
Why only scientists, doctors, and the other categories named here? What is "smart"? In my book, there are different types of intelligence, and I don't see any artists, writers, musicians, or smart plumbers on this list. What's with strictly equating an occupation with intelligence? Let's think a little more openly, please. - Cathryn Hrudicka
i think http://friendfeed.com/nova is interesting due to his work with ontology and the semantic web. i really like where you're going with this thread, bring on the BIG thinkers! - Nice Fish Films
And oh yes! I'm building software to rethink the way socialmedia should be :) - directeur via NoiseRiver
@Nice Fish Films thanks! Semantic Web is one of my interests... adding nova. :D - Rom Feria
@creativesage: I love Coltrane, Ahmad Jamal, Sonny Rollins, Miles Davis, Dizzy, Birdy... does this count? :) - directeur via NoiseRiver
Tell them to subscribe to me, even if you use me as an example of who NOT to subscribe to. --- ok, enough bad jokes for tonight. I promise. - Paul Short
I like the idea of increasing the clumpiness of your long tail. Help your followers/fans meet each other. The value isn't just in the scale of your fan base but in their interconnectedness with each other. How long before we have Scoblizer meetups? - Phil Wolff via Alert Thingy
Thanks for starting this thread, @Scoble. Am subscribing to more smart people... hoping that some of their intelligence will rub off to me via the ethers of the internet. :) - Rom Feria
Robert, A high degree of self-confidence! - mahyaa
Zahra: I was trying to find some of the less technology-industry centric smart people. But many of the smartest people in my life are engineers (my dad is one). - Robert Scoble
Come on... It's not about the title/status (I've been a univ. teacher at 23) It's about what we make. What we "create". Don't you think? :) - directeur via NoiseRiver
@directeur Commentary can carry just as much importance as creation, they are just different categories. - xero
I see:) anyway I'm a software engineer. seems it doesn't count ;) - Zahra HB
Software engineers are extremely smart. What you do is akin to magic for most people. - Robert Scoble
@jokeyxero: Totally agree! Inovation is not just about "making" "things" - directeur via NoiseRiver
@zahrahb: Of course it counts! and your firstname is a flower, so it counts more ;-) - directeur via NoiseRiver
I think by responding to your request, I have some how diminished in smartitudinessosity...besides, smart people aren;t interesting to follow; train wrecks are much more fun (i.e. reality television). - Josh Tabin via twhirl
Feels like magic sometimes. I actually have a code snippet folder labeled "Magic". - xero
Robert, you should be following some of the wine geeks (and not just GaryV, who dwells on another plane of existence). There's not many of them of FF yet, but what they lack in intelligence (per se), they more than make up with personality and opinion. - Randy Hall
Someone like Tim Elliot (on FF) or Tom Wark (not on FF, but I'm trying!) - Randy Hall
Respectfully, kind of a one sided list there. There's also the creative, often less linear side. Different kind of "smart" - and not a lot of them on here unfortunately. Writers, directors, artists, etc. Different assumptions about the world, different ways of looking at it and processing it. - Dean Terry
I'm a physicist but never think a phycist can be smart:D - Maryamss
But I haven't seen any geek who could be said smart ... all of them live isolated in their office (Generally) - saee:Dsharif
Can we find the smartest person on FF and have them make a Gattica room and then they can screen for the genetically and educationally superior among us? That would be awesome - Marco (aureliusmaximus)
Physicists are smart enough to know that they know absolutely nothing. Quantum entanglement still blows my mind. - xero
you should subscribe to Bryan Jones, on twitter as bwjones. He's a scientist and also great photographer. Check his website, linked from his twitter page. - mark zero (Jason)
<- looking for more 'SMARTest' FriendFeed'ers as in SOCIAL INTELLIGENCE and GUT FEELING, creativity & ARTISTS - Margit Hinke
I found most of Iranian users smart.they are very clever and educated - Maryamss
due to maryam's comment, I think all geeks are smart ;) - Zahra HB
In general Robert, I think we have serious under-representation of the sciences here on FF. There seems to be a vibrant community of Bio-chemists that I am tracking via @neilfws and @mndoci that also tackle more general subjects like doing science in the Web 2.0 setting. Until now I could not find anything comparable in my side of the woods, i.e. systems research in networking, etc. There is a large community of us on Facebook, but my friends there are slow in accepting FF - Vlado Handziski
I agree w/Berci below--that's a good place to start, but it's an aggregate of ALL doc/medstudent bloggers, some far more tech saavy than others. By definition, most docs don't have a TON of time for noodling online to keep active in all communities, but there's no shortage of us who attempt to leverage newer social tech to our professional advantage--and more of a 'purist' approach, not for slimy marketing gimmicks either. - Enrico C. via twhirl
3rd year Computer Science Undergrad. Yeaah, we need a dedicated CS room. What say you??????? - Roberto Bonini
That's absolutely right, Vlado! Life scientists and medical professionals are under-represented in Friendfeed and it will take a lot of time to persuade others to join us. For example, I only know about 3 medical students (including me) who are on Friendfeed. What do tech guys think about that? How could we persuade more people of these fields to join Friendfeed? - Berci Mesko
Berci: one problem is that newbies are not able to immediately see the richness of the FF world (the experience is coupled with the number of subs, participation, etc.), and they loose interest fast. That is why I like the approach of creating rooms dedicated to different science areas and exporting their feeds to colleagues, so they can learn about the dynamics on FF even before they join. - Vlado Handziski
I did a Ph.D. in bioinformatics / computational biology and is currently in the process of starting my own research group. I will leave it to others to judge if that is a smart thing to do ;-) - Lars Juhl Jensen
BTW: there is a considerable number of life scientists at FF - just take a look at group "The Life Scientists". - Lars Juhl Jensen
Well, I do have a degree in Physics but do not use it. =) - Jauder Ho
Personally, I look for motivated people to follow, those who are following their passions to make the world (at least THEIR part in the world) a better place. I have 3 graduate degrees (Rehabilitation, Mental Health, and Education) and 2 professional licenses but no longer work in the field. I write about the field, using my knowledge of related topics, but do nothing that requires those qualifications. So the degrees aren't everything. - Shelly Weiss
It's really cool of Scoble to want to "give back" something to those who follow him. Anyway, what's Scoble's definition of "Smart"? I am a Web Ninja (Developer, Engineer, whatever you call it, but because I enjoy my work, I prefer to call myself a NInja), and a part-time Radio Host, so am I smart? Hmm.. - Winston Teo
Winston, he already defined it: 1) Anyone who is a scientist (including, but possibly not limited to: physicists, chemists, and material scientists), 2) doctors, 3) economists, 4) lawyers, 5) some engineers (including, but possibly not limited to software engineers), and 6) Anyone who is married to a CERN physicist. - Mark Trapp
Mark: my definition of smart is much broader than that, but I only have about 200 characters to play with on FriendFeed. I used to room with a janitor who was smart. They are rare, but out there. Probably are programming on weekends like this guy was. I'm thinking about why some people are smart. Probably has something to do with the first words out of their mouth are about ideas, not about celebrities. - Robert Scoble
I have a B.Sc. in psychology, half of a B.Eng., and a graduate certificate in corporate communications & public relations. Does that make me smart? Maybe. Lets have a conversation, and you can judge for yourself. - Rick Weiss
Here is a link to a small survey about the scientists that participate in the Life Scientists room, regarding on what do they work on. http://friendfeed.com/e/c0dafa... - Pedro Beltrao
“posted this on twitter and got no feedback - wondering what you all think about this idea. Insyte: The difference between PR and social media is that PR is about positioning, and social media is about becoming, being and improving. ”
I think PR is about talking to and Social Media is about talking with. At least at the moment. Hopefully the two will be able to blend. - Janet Fouts
PR is "Professional Relationships." Social Media is just "relationships." I know when a PR person writes something (or calls or emails) that he/she wants me to pass along that message. When someone writes something here they don't care. That's a huge difference. - Robert Scoble
PR is about sending a message. SM is about sending a message, getting a response and creating a conversation - Britney Mason
I agree with all all the comments here, and will also say that when I've contacted people for a PR purpose, I've still thought about it as a conversation with a human being, not so much as a "pitch." That's why the concept of "social media" and social networking came easily to me. I had always worked that way. - Cathryn Hrudicka
I agree with both Britney and Cathryn. I think there has a been a long-standing division between the "practitioners" and "professionals" in the PR industry. Now that the primary media distribution medium has merged with the primary communication channel (it's all happening online), the differenence between the two groups has simply become more pronounced. PR and social media are both about telling stories. The only difference is in the editing. A common criticism of PR is that there is too much editing, or spin. A common criticism of social media? Not enough editing. - Steve Lynch
aren't we just splitting hairs at this point? For PR, social media should be viewed as a channel, much like dailies, broadcast and radio are. Then within the channel each community approached with unique tactics. You wouldn't approach FORTUNE the same as CNBC or Forbes the same as C|Net. One emerging trend coming from GenY and its impact in the workforce is the lines between professional and private lives are blurring. This is just happening in PR. This isn't Bernays PR world. - matt ceniceros
Social Media by definition is about using technology to communicate and interact in new ways and share elements like text, photos, videos. It's not a new form of comm, rather new forms of delivery, and new tools to do so. PR and media are well suited for social media from a "professional" standpoint because the rely on delivering the elements of a story. I agree with Matt, it's more of a channel at this point. Bloggers are not necessarily journalists, but they are influential in their space (ie.Scoble) - Jason Kintzler
Social media = our shared community view of the world. Traditional media = someone is selling something. - Dion Hinchcliffe via twhirl
PR is a purposeful effort to gain attention to a specific company, product, or service. Social Media is a nebulous term generically applied to blogging, social networking, online communities, and anywhere else where an individual can have a voice. There isn't any form of appropriate comparison, because they are completely different things. - Jeremy Toeman
I would say that social media is a tool that can be used as a conduit for PR, one is the channel, the other is the message. - Jackie Peters
I agree with Jackie PR is about getting the message out, typically on a professional level as Scoble indicates, while social media has created yet another distribution outlet for PR as well as many other communications. The trick for PR professionals is to recognize that social media is a two way street and is not merely an outward push of information. They should also use it to respond to readers and to keep an eye out for public opinion regarding their organization/product/service, etc. - Heidi Cool
I agree with Jason, social media is just merely the channel, and each channel is a tactic. The overall strategy should be influence marketing, utilizing each of these channels to achieve your business objectives whatever they may be. PR really has no place in social media except as an additional source of information. People only trust companies to get the facts about their products which creates awareness. Everything else is almost always drawn from research and conversations with objective third parties. - Devlin Dunsmore
A bland video on YouTube is useless. Same goes for a pure PR based corp blog. If companies are going to use social media for anything of value it has to be influence marketing. Engaging your customers at different points in the funnel in different parts of the web is the only way to establish new and strengthen existing customer relationships. - Devlin Dunsmore
In this conversation thread the assumption is that the dynamics of social conversations and messaging will remain the same. The question we need to ask is "Would we there be market for professional PR in 10 years from now given the rise of social media?" I think the hurricane of two way communication revolution with instant feedback is building up and what we have seen so far is only tip of the ice-berg. There is a good chance that top-down one way megaphone style messaging may be history in a decade. - Vic Podcaster
PR is the tool used to establishing and maintaining your brand / image / culture; whereas, Social Media is all about engaging your audience and fostering deeper community ties that relate to your brand management. So PR is the upper layer (formal) and the SM layer is more person and intimate layer (informal). - Susan Beebe
PR evolved to influence the media controllers, just as advertising evolved to piggback on the media flow. Both practics evolved to influence consumers indirectly, because direct consumer interaction wasn't practical. Social media now allows direct engagement, and has evolved in an environment where consumers reject manipulative influence. This is a problem for PR and adverstising, but not terminal. There will always be a need for businesses to create and advocate their own message. But "influencing the influencers" is not going to cut it. "Blogger Relations" is not going to cut it. PR and advertising need to explore ~direct~ consumer engagement for what it really is--not just a "channel". Those who have always been about human relationships get it. Those who have been about manipulative influence won't. - Chris Kenton
@Chris - BINGO!! real authentic relationships are must...no fake manipulative crap. - Susan Beebe
pr is manipulation, one way, ..... social media is exposition (as in exposure), two way (or more) ... - Gregory Lent
I think in the context of corprate outreach, social media is a public relations conduit. Yes, there are different rules, but social media is a communications mechanism, not some separate animal altogether. Two cents. -
