Maintaining Authenticity while Paying for Social Content

If I had one PR superpower, I would choose the power of foresight. Being able to know what big trends were coming down the line in five or even just two years would be immeasurably valuable. With our all-too-common power of hindsight, we now know the value of infographics, video content, social media and photo networks – but, imagine being able to know how big these trends would be for PR before they burst onto the scene.

If you take a snapshot of what the PR industry looks like today, that may literally just last for today. Who knows, tomorrow we may be trying to think of ways to get our clients’ content on Google Glass lenses! The world we live in is constantly evolving and one of the keys to staying on top of this near-constant change is asking questions and engaging in industry discussions.

Weather Channel Taps Social Media for #Nemo Blizzard

Sandy, Katrina, Irene, Andrew… all memorable names of Hurricanes that have wreaked havoc on U.S. coastlines and mainland in years past, but have you heard of Nemo? In case you’ve been living in a sunny California bubble, Nemo is the first named blizzard that’s predicted to hit the North East by tomorrow afternoon… and hit hard. But when did we start naming blizzards? Even the infamous blizzard of ’78 went unnamed. So, what’s Nemo all about?

The answer is simple: social media.

A New Social Network You’ll “prollie” Want to Check Out

With more than 200 social networking sites in existence today, it’s safe to say the social sphere is a crowded market. But, with most social network users only maintaining an average of three to five profiles, how can newcomers hope to make their mark on the industry?

Undoubtedly this was one of the questions co-founders and brothers Mike and Red Fabbri asked themselves as they started one of the newest social platforms, prollie.

Where Do You Turn In A Crisis?

Tonight, at approximately a quarter past 7:00 p.m. ET, people across New England felt the 4.0+ magnitude earthquake that emanated from 20 miles west of Portland, Maine. But, at first, not knowing it was an earthquake, people looked for an answer to what caused their building to tremble and books to fall from their shelves. So, where did they turn? For many, the answer was social media.

Using Twitter for Customer Service

While we know Twitter can be a great platform for marketing and PR, allowing for the near-instantaneous, mass distribution of news, content and press, what about using Twitter for customer service? Many companies may shy away from such a public forum for interacting with disgruntled consumers, but Twitter has become the primary soap box for many to voice not only outrage, but also satisfaction with both products and services alike.

The Benefits of Tweeting for CEOs

Should CEOs be tweeting? Well, you’ve heard it from the numbers before… 77 percent of consumers said they trust a CEO who tweets more than one who doesn’t… one good tweet from a CEO is worth more than 100 tweets from other staff… 82 percent of employees have more confidence in a tweeting CEO… 93 percent believe that CEO engagement in social media helps showcase company values, reputation, and leadership…

Medium – Modern Day Content Publishing

What does a publishing system designed for today’s content, information, and communication landscape look like?

According to Twitter founders Ev Williams and Biz Stone, it looks like Medium – their latest venture that launched earlier this week and aims to combine traditional blogging services with user-curated collections to deliver a modern age publishing platform.

Social Media Growing as a News Source; If Trustworthy

More and more journalists are turning to social media channels as a source of news, as well as to validate stories and uncover new article angles, topics and ideas. And, who’s to blame them? With more than 632 million registered Twitter accounts and upward of 900 million active Facebook users, social media sites have a plethora of publically accessible content, opinions and posts that can act as a ready-made ecosystem for reporters to leverage.

What Are Your Favorite #FailedTechBands?

Last week, my Twitter feed was buzzing with a lot of misspelled musical groups. Typos like WAN Halen, Wiki Minaj, Johnny Cache, and The Red Hat Chili Peppers were seemingly everywhere I looked… oh, wait, that was the #FailedTechBands hashtag craze.

Started by Mashable, tech gurus, nerds and geeks everywhere (myself included) flocked to Twitter to chime in with clever puns that combined technology brands and gadgets with popular band names and singers to see who could come up with the cleverest failed tech band.

67% of Women Keep Social Profiles Private

There have been many demographic studies conducted on those most likely to use social media. For instance, a 2011 Nielsen Report found that women between 18–34 who are of Asian or Pacific Islander decent, living in New England with a bachelor’s or graduate college degree, making less than $50K/year, are most likely to use social networks. However, this report, like others, didn’t specifically analyze a crucial aspect of social network use – privacy.