PR & SEO Blog

MTV Switch: Traffic Surge

noreply@blogger.com (Tal) — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:22:00 +0000

Roughly two weeks ago, the MTV Switch blog received an upswing in traffic of over five hundred unique visitors in one day. This milestone--unprecedented in the history of the blog--simultaneously delivered a higher average of visitors per day.

The way we were able to produce this tremendous boost in traffic was through a deft mixture of Stumbling links. By using StumbleUpon, we could show other people on the Internet items of interest to them, and they, in turn, stumbled these links so that other people could see them as well. In this way, social bookmarking sites such as StumbleUpon present newer, faster, and pyramid-like forms of outreach on the Internet. Because of this, we are reaching new stages in the web, where simple recommendations produce more traffic by tapping into what brings people to web sites in the first place: unbridled curiosity.

MTV: Gaining Blog Exposure

noreply@blogger.com (Tal) — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:44:00 +0000

You created a blog, are posting content on it regularly, and sit patiently waiting for traffic to appear. Sometimes it does--content is king after all--and sometimes it doesn’t. For the MTV project, we’ve been getting a steady flow of traffic each day: but it’s fairly modest. Much of that likely has to do with the fact that it’s a new blog without many links. So what’s a blogger to do? Answer: Go on the hunt for links.

We started informing people of our existence, focusing on other environmental bloggers. Many of them helped us out and shared the blog with their audience. Each link helps, and you can see that in the search numbers. So far we have gotten links from a number of influential environmental blogs. However, I think we need to work on something timely for the blog to give us that extra reason for the rest of the eco-friendly bloggers out there to give us a shout out.

On the print media side, we just got a great quote in the New Media Age magazine.

MTV: StumbleUpon and Social Blogging

noreply@blogger.com (Tal) — Fri, 30 May 2008 15:15:00 +0000

Our social media expert here at Connors has been working on getting the word out about the MTV SWITCH blog. One of the techniques being used to draw in more traffic has been submitting particularly noteworthy blog entries to StumbleUpon. The result has been impressive: When Stumbled, traffic to the blog jumps ten fold for a day or two before the flood of visitors subsides.

In the last 30 days, StumbleUpon has brought in more traffic than the main MTV SWITCH portal. StumbleUpon has become our number one referrer and brings many new visitors to the blog’s most entertaining and interesting posts.

The big challenge here is to capitalize on this exposure and put up some interesting posts, hopefully getting visitors to bookmark it and return. One would think that MTV, being the giant, recognizable brand that it is, would be sending the blog most of its traffic, when in fact more of it has been coming from StumbleUpon. It just goes to show you that social bookmarking sites are powerful tools when used correctly.

MTV: SWITCH Blog

noreply@blogger.com (Tal) — Fri, 23 May 2008 14:36:00 +0000

Connors has been working on a blog project with MTV for a few months now. The project is a campaign the music television giant has launched called MTV SWITCH, which promotes a green lifestyle and presents a cool image of how to fight global warming. MTV has teamed up with ad agencies to create commercials and PSAs about climate change that they have been airing on their international channels. They have also tapped a company to create the main MTV SWITCH website. And we created the blog that accompanies their efforts. It’s an important topic, a great name behind it, and there’s a lot to write about.

So what’s been happening? The first posts went up in late December and since then we’ve been populating the site with content. The search traffic is coming in and that means we can use the HitTail suggestions to supply ideas for additional posts. So far we’re at just about a hundred unique visitors a day. It’s a beginning, and we expect the numbers to go nowhere but up.

As a brand new blog in the crowded “green” space, we are working to separate ourselves from other environmental sites by adding an MTV edge.

What Sort of Social Media Services Should An Online Marketer Offer Clients?

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 21:36:00 +0000

Here are the services an online marketing company can (or should) offer clients:

Blogging: Providing blog content, including content that has a "real" voice and is calculated to drive traffic/comments/interaction. Metrics to measure the effectiveness of this include # of comments, traffic, link-tos, and Technorati ratings.

Blogger Outreach: This involves first creating contact lists carefully targeted to the client in question – and having the ability to identify the influential bloggers within a particular niche. Then the bloggers are contacted regarding the client story in question. This is similar to traditional PR, but involves a far more personal hand, and the ability to network and create relationships online. Traditional press releases do not work in this outreach – they must be short, friendly letters. Metrics for this include hits and link-backs to your site.

Forum Outreach: Similar to blogger outreach. Part of this is identifying in advance what forums might be useful to the client and developing a relationship with them BEFORE making the "pitch" on the site (or else you are labeled a spammer).

Social Networking Sites: The creating/maintenance of MySpace and/or Facebook accounts for the client, including the creation of Groups, Friending, sending out bulletins, etc. In addition to Facebook & MySpace there are many other social networking sites to focus on, both broad-based (like Bebo) or specialized (depending on client’s needs). Part of offering this service is the ability to tell clients what specific sites will be best for them demographically, and keeping up with trends. Metrics for this would be page hits, increase of hits on referenced URL, number of "friends" and comments.

Podcast & YouTube: Some clients will be particularly suited for these forms of viral marketing. Marketers should offer very basic services in making simple podcasts & videos with the goal of going "viral" within the social networks. There is also a social networking component to these podcast and YouTube communities that have to be maintained and "worked." Metrics for this would be hits, # of downloads, link-tos from other sites, and increase of hits on referenced URL.

Social Bookmarking: Interfacing between client blogger and bookmarker to shape content most likely to be bookmarked. Metrics include # of "Diggs" or "stumbles" a bookmarked story gets, and corresponding hit spike on referenced URL.

Within all of this is the need to provide the client a list of metrics to demonstrate that the social networking is creating a result. Companies are more likely, even in the case of budget cuts to their overall online marketing plan, to keep a budget for social networking because it is relatively inexpensive – but because the technology is so new, they want to see tangible results. It will be necessary, then, for a shop to create their own methodology and protocol for collecting data for metrics and presenting them in a convenient and comprehensive manner for the client.

Quality SEO

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:37:00 +0000

In addition to what my colleague, Adam Edwards, writes below on the ROI of SEO, I would like to present an example that illustrates that it is not just important to invest in SEO, but to invest in quality SEO.

GoCompare.com, a UK site that allows users to compare car insurance rates, used to rank number one on Google for the coveted term: "car insurance". What this translated to was that 17.49% of people searching on that term would visit the site. As you can imagine, this amounts to a huge number of people as "car insurance" is a very popular search term.

Not surprisingly, this term was responsible for most of the traffic to GoCompare.com. Even more so than its actual name spaced out: "Go Compare".

At the end of the week of January 28th, GoCompare.com lost its coveted number one ranking because Google uncovered dubious inbound linking to the site. Apparently, GoCompare.com had invested a bit too much in the pay-per-blog "methodology", which provides links to a site (which helps with optimization) for a fee.

So, how did GoCompare.com rank after it was found out? From number one, it plummeted to the obscurity of the seventh Google search page. Needless to say, the results were detrimental.

Just 2.31% of people searching on "car insurance" went to the site the following week. This equaled to an 87% decrease in traffic! The part that probably hurt the most was the gains made by GoCompare.com's competitors, the search traffic for which increased as much as 77% in the aftermath.

Google rightly decided to hone in on the practice of paying for inbound links as it falsely portrays a sense of authority. Your site is not ranking highly on a term because you offer quality data on the particular topic, but because you paid some key blogs and other sites to link to you.

So beware! Many SEO firms that claim to shoot your site right to the top of your most important search terms are probably using these unethical practices, to which Google is catching up.

Quality SEO, just like anything else that's worthwhile, takes time. At Connors, for instance, we build your site content out so that it is SEO friendly and worthy of a searcher's attention.

Our technique does not just ensure success in the relative near future, but also for years to come. Please refer to Adam's eloquent metaphor below to get a better idea of this important difference.

PPC Is Not an Investment

noreply@blogger.com (Adam Edwards) — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 15:44:00 +0000

There's a great article by Tameka Kee in MediaPost today about SEO providing great ROI and outperforming other marketing initiatives. It looks like the rest of the industry is finally catching on!

However, what worries me is the idea that some marketers believe pay-per-click (PPC) is an investment. Now don't get me wrong; PPC is a fine business. Connors helped launch the entire industry with its PR work on Overture, after all. Yet let's be clear in that PPC is advertising. And once you stop paying, its benefits disappear. It may be a good buy with consistently high ROI that continues to bring in search traffic and provide leads, but it is not an investment.

PPC is kind of like renting an apartment. You can sign a lease and move in quickly. Sometimes you can even get a month-to-month agreement. If you have any problems, you can talk to the super and (hopefully) he'll fix your place. But you are not gaining any equity. Should your landlord decide to sell the building or raise rent dramatically, you'll be stuck without a place to live. In the long term, isn't it better to buy or build your own house?

SEO, on the other hand, provides compounding returns. You can build your house (or site) and then make improvements or additions. Yes, some patience and hard work is involved but don't worry, as you can still hire contractors like us to help. It will all be worthwhile when your property value (or PageRank) goes up. Then, should you choose, you can sell at a profit.

There is nothing wrong with renting some keywords with PPC as long as you make sure you are saving enough to invest in your own SEO house.

Surprising Data On Natural Born Clickers

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Wed, 13 Feb 2008 17:15:00 +0000

Here’s an interesting study on Natural Born Clickers by Starcom, Tacoda & Hitwise (via SEOmoz blog).

Natural Born Clickers -- or NBCs -- click on online advertising the most, and what the data shows about them is surprising.

Heavy clickers:

Account for 50% of all display ad clicks, but only 6% of the total online population.
Skew towards Internet users between the ages of 25-44.
Skew towards households with an income under $40,000.
Spend 4 times more online than “normal” clickers – but their spending does not proportionately reflect this increased usage.
Are more likely to visit auctions, gambling, and career service sites.

Will this study have a negative impact on the paid display ad industry? Will more targeted methods of attracting customers like organic SEO get a boost? Only time will tell – but it’s certainly food for thought.

Zooming Vs. Scroll And Search: How Will It Effect SEO?

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 21:09:00 +0000

A fascinating article in Newsweek.com caught my eye, about how the future of online naviagation might be in zooming, not the scroll and search with which we are so familiar.

This all apparently has to do with the way humans process information, being far more skilled at scanning and picking out information spatially than by navigating lists. This has been a situation that has bedeviled web-developers for years -- but now there is finally headway being done in the area of zooming navigation.

Of course, we already have some examples of zoom in the form of Google Earth. But, Google Earth has pauses in its zoom to load up new images. The technology we are referring to in this article, however, involves seamless zooming, like increasing the power of a telescope.

The Microsoft-owned Seadragon is a bold step in that direction, and with a sharply increased staff as of late, it is clear the software giant has a great belief in its potential to revolutionize both the Internet and they way we navigate our own desktops.

So picture, if you will, a search where instead of lists of links you had a visual “map” of choices. You quickly scan with your eyes this map, lock in on the visual you want, and click a button to seamlessly zoom in on it. Repeat, drill-down, zoom in on result after result.

I know what you might be thinking – this sort of navigation might work well on a nice big monitor, but what about a cell phone? Well, wouldn’t this method work better than a list of links? I mean, how many Google links can fit on a mobile device’s “screen?” Five? Of course, Microsoft is also working on its own version of zoom for mobile – Deepfish.

But, the $250,000 question for us remains – how does zoom navigation impact SEO?

Certainly, there will still be tags and keywords. And apparently a zoom search is more efficient than scroll, increasing the amount of information one can work with at one time, according to the Newsweek article, by perhaps even a thousand.

However, I would think there would be certain logistics related to search results that would have to be adjusted. And, since zoom navigation might one day take over from scroll, we will have to anticipate these changes and adapt.

Social Media and Super Tuesday

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 21:15:00 +0000

The writers have been on strike for so long, that I think we have given up on the idea of scripted programming altogether. Perhaps, during a more uneventful time period, the strike would have more dire consequences. It's a good thing we have this election to keep us on the edge of our seats and thoroughly entertained.

Just as I was scanning for news on how social media impacted Super Tuesday results, I stumbled upon the news that Mitt Romney has dropped out of the race. Out of curiosity, I wondered who had the exclusive. After scrolling back to the 30th page (yes, thirtieth, as in three - zero) of Google News results, I gather that ABC was one of the first to post the news to the site of its local San Francisco affiliate just 4 hours earlier.

So, where was I? Oh yes. Did social media have an impact on the biggest primary day?

A nice place to begin answering that question is on a blog called the Marketing Pilgrim. On Super Tuesday morning, the Pilgrim made a bold claim that the winners were already decided based on online fanfare. Its prediction: John McCain and Barak Obama would win on Super Tuesday.

The prediction was largely based on positive and negative search results on the candidates. Apparently, Obama and McCain had the most positive results.

What really happened? Yes, McCain did win, but what about the democrats?

Despite their reported dead heat, there are stark implication made by the states that were won by Clinton and Obama. A nice summary by blogger Krutic can be read here on Blog Critics Magazine.

I suppose if you count the states, Obama won. When looking closely at the states he won, however, a different picture comes into focus. Out of the 13 he won, only 3 - Connecticut, Illinois, and Delaware - tend to vote democratic and would truly count for him in a general election.

Clinton, on the other hand, won the democratic strongholds of Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey and California. These are all monster states in terms of population, which equal to delegates, which equal to winning the nomination.

But back to the question at hand: Did social media make a difference?

I think it is safe to say that social media has made a huge impact for Barak Obama's campaign. I would even make the claim that without his enthusiastic youth following, he would have been driven to anonymity months ago.

The more appropriate question might be: Can the youth truly decide this primary? In essence, will the difference social media is making count?

Jeffrey Feldman wrote an interesting article for The Huffington Post on this very topic. In it, he explains that while there is an exorbitant amount of attention being paid to Obama and his movement, the fact is that on Super Tuesday "the 18-24 age group typically made up only 7%-8% of the overall vote, while the 65 and over age group typically made up 20%-22% of the vote." And guess what, "Obama did not carry the 65 and older vote in a single state." Not even in his home turf of Illinois, where the senior vote was split 50/50 between him and Clinton.

With the current facts in mind, it's important to note that the race is far from over. Clinton is about 100 delegates ahead of Obama and all fingers point to this primary going to the democratic convention in May.

The basic fact that young people don't vote, yet are very opinionated online remains. So, for now at least, we might have to take Facebook polls and the like with a grain of salt. Perhaps a true testament to social media will only be seen decades from now, when the young are not so young anymore.

Future Trending: The Mobility Of Content And The Need To Track Its Impact

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 16:32:00 +0000

The blog Buzz Marketing For Technology pointed out a trend for the future of online marketing: the distribution of content and the need to formulate methods for tracking the impact of that content (in terms of views, keywords, and general efficacy in achieving its objectives).

For example, in tradition Web 2.0 marketing techniques, one has a blog or website and content is generated for that particular venue. Then the impact of each post/article is tracked in terms of how many hits it generated, how viral it is, how many consumer referrals were made as a result of it, what keywords were used to find it, etc.

But, the trend is now more and more about distributing that content to other sites – whether it be communal blogs, syndicated content, content carried by widgets that can be installed on other people’s blogs or social networking pages, etc.

This trend seems to me to be part of larger one in business in which the focus is less and less about one's "homebase" -- whether it be a blog or a company headquarters -- and more about mobility. The mobile office: more people conduct their workday partially in their pajamas or dashing down Main Street. The mobile company: companies outsource their help to places halfway across the globe. Even the mobile rock and roll band: individual members of the band will record their sections individually from different areas in the world.

Back to the example of online marketing and analytics. In the (not too distant) future, content will need to be mobile in order to compete and reach its intended audiences, and there has to be something in place to measure the effectiveness of the content in those multiple locations.

Hence, the need for firms who can develop the measuring systems and methods of data tracking to keep abreast of the many streams of content and analyze their effectiveness.

And in this equation let us not forget the seemingly countless streams of social networking tools: Facebook pages, Twitters, social bookmarking, etc. Taking this into consideration, plus the rather “conversational” nature of many blog exchanges, I would recommend a management system that combines both necessary algorithms and spreadsheets plus a personal, organic understanding of Web 2.0 and natural SEO.

Will Google’s Vendetta Against Baidu Impact The Future Of Free Music Downloads?

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 20:19:00 +0000

Google’s mission to oust the success of Baidu in China has been uphill, despite a move by the American search giant to larger offices in the country and increasing staff.

Now Google hopes that offering free music downloads to the Chinese via a partnership with Top100.cn will turn the tide.

By cornering the popular music search market – something Baidu has become quite popular in – Google hopes to make crucial inroads on Baidu’s supremacy and gain a foothold in the continent.

Most intriguing in all this is the possibility that the precedents Google might set in China for free music downloads and music search, if successful, will spread to the rest of the world as well.

Beyond the immediate questions of how this will affect the music industry, what impact might a legal music search/download system implemented by Google have on SEO? What sort of data might be generated by this new system of legal free downloads and the keywords used to find them?

When I think of the online marketing matrix that might be created between Google, music search/free downloads, and the possibility of melding social networking with SEO, I marvel at the possibilities.

For example, the music searches can be tagged in Google with keywords, particular searches bookmarked for other users to browse. Google could have a social network set up of just saved searches and playlists, a competition brewing between users as to who is the “top” searcher. Meanwhile, you have all this keyword data cropping up, including what I would think would be some great long tail results.

So will Google do what Napster could not – popularize legal free music downloads? And how will this change the online marketing playing field? Stay tuned to find out…don’t touch that dial!

Conversational SEO: One Conversation You Can't Afford To Miss

noreply@blogger.com (Valerie D'Orazio) — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:28:00 +0000

I found this interesting blog post on iMedia Connection about conversational marketing, and it made me think of how it relates to SEO…

Back in the old days of traditional marketing (which really weren’t so long ago), communication with the consumer was generally a one-way street. The consumer was told, “BUY THIS.” Period. End of conversation.

But, today’s marketers & businesses must keep that conversation going.

It’s called “Conversational Marketing,” a buzzword brought to global attention by 1999’s “ClueTrain Manifesto.”

Here is a simple example of conversational marketing: a business sets up a blog on their webpage. The blog is there to, of course, help sell the product -- but also to provide some good content and a place where customers and potential customers can engage in Conversation about said product.

Having something valuable to say and being there to listen – the hallmarks of a good friend, or at least somebody you’d want to hang out with. And that’s the key to conversational marketing, and of the sea change that has taken place in the world of marketing in general.

The consumer of today is tired of being talked down to, ordered around, and generally told what he or she should do with his or her money. He or she is also getting too savvy for the bells and whistles marketers and advertisers dream up to coax them into a purchase. No, what they want is not bells and whistles – but a person to talk to.

The meteoric rise in social media of all stripes – blogs, message boards, social networking, social bookmarking, news aggregate sites – have provided the perfect platform for this conversation between Business and Consumer to flourish. And, it’s incumbent upon every company, big and small, to make use of these resources.

Now, how does conversational marketing relate to a public relations firm that has transitioned to SEO?

Well, we can extend the conversation over to SEO pretty easily. In conversational SEO, you are not merely looking at a list of keywords, but really understanding how your audience is conversing – and then optimizing on the words they use to search! Again, the art of conversational SEO – like that of conversational marketing -- is a distinctly two-way, personal interaction. One-to-one (or many-to-many) versus one-to-many.

Now certainly, one cannot live on “conversation” alone. However, making the most of social media in conjunction with a skillful SEO campaign is a winning combination!

Good old fashioned football

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 21:21:00 +0000

This Sunday, many Americans will put their Blackberries, computers, cell phones and iPods aside to enjoy some good old fashioned football. Despite all of our technological leaps throughout the years, it seems that football has yet to be perfected beyond the invention of the television.

Sure, TVs have gotten bigger, and high definition allows us the pleasure of seeing every drop of sweat. Also, while my knowledge of football is about as good as my handle of the Chinese language, I understand that the way in which the game is shot has gotten some very sophisticated upgrades.

Still, this Superbowl Sunday will be enjoyed just like the ones in many years past. There will be lots of beer drinking, fried foods with various preservative-filled dips, not to mention, lots of screaming and hollering.

It might seem trivial to point out, but it is interesting.

Rationale would suggest that by 2008, there should be some sort of interactive component to the game through a site or a social network. Perhaps even a joint venture with a video game in which you can manipulate the players in some sort of virtual simulation.

After all, we can't just sit and watch regular television anymore. As a whole, we are drawn to shows that allow some form of participation; whether it be voting for our favorite singer or talking to producers in an online forum.

According to comScore, the only online interaction people seem to want to devote for the big game is to check stats and replay the ads. And that's only before and after the game! Less than 1/3 of those polled to go online at all on Superbowl Sunday promised to do so during the actual sacred hours of play.

Even though I don't care much for football, it's kind of nice to know that Superbowl Sunday is still best savored in its natural state.

Diggers digging their own hole?

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 14:28:00 +0000

With social news networks like Digg around for some time now, the interesting realities of human behavior on these types of sites are being revealed.

Last week, Founder Kevin Rose announced that a new algorithm would take control over Digg, changing the way stories make their way to becoming popular on the network.

Leaving complexities aside, the basic idea is that from now on, the diversity of people digging stories will be taken into consideration in deeming which articles are catapulted to the top of Digg and which are buried in its depths.

For prominent Diggers, this change might mean a sudden fall from grace. Apparently, there is a group of them that has invested such an avid participation in the site, that they, in principal, control it.

This means that the “popular” stories we read are really not popular by true definition. Rather, the Diggers in this specific and relatively small group are the ones who deem articles to be “popular.”

Obviously, news of the changed algorithm caused an uproar among these Diggers. After all, no one likes to be stripped of their power, no matter how mediocre it might be.

Fortunately, Digg founders did not ignore their devoted fans despite their dictatorship-style tactics. Rather than admonishing them for turning Digg into their own personal platform, Kevin Rose and his fellow Digg leaders talked things out with some of these high profile Diggers, who were charging them with abandonment.

This scenario is an interesting two-sided coin. On the one side, these dedicated Diggers are the pulse of Digg. On the flipside, though, those who visit on a less frequent basis might feel - and some apparently do (see comments) - that Digg is a pointless endeavor. This sentiment discourages recurrent use of the program, stripping it of hits, which equal value.

It seems that morale has won this round. However, in time, I predict that we will see more of these types of situations. The basic elements of human behavior are inherent no matter if we are interacting in the real or in a virtual world. In a social group, there will always be those who take charge, while the majority remains largely apathetic.

The SEO Firm & New York

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 21:20:00 +0000

Madison Avenue is the home of advertising agencies and PR has often times found itself at the heart of New York City. But SEO has yet to be pinned to one specific geographic location.

Having been in the SEO business for about 10 years, we seem to be dominating the SEO space here in the Flatiron neighborhood of Manhattan. Perhaps our chic locale will start a trend.

In our increasingly interconnected world, however, we might soon find location to not be as relevant as it once was. After all, we are doing business with companies outside of our little neighborhood. We are even branching out internationally.

Being competitive and offering truly unique services is thus the top priority for companies dealing with the online space. In a recent ClickZ article, Mike Grehan warns SEO-ers that we need to step up our game in 2008. Years before, when search was more rudimentary, SEO was pretty straight forward. Streamline a company’s website and they are on solid ground for months.

With the evolution of our search habits, SEO is just not that simple anymore. We have to get beyond the basics and truly add creativity to our practice.

It’s a good thing that Connors recognized this years ago. We have always banked on the long tail concept, knowing that the majority of hits to a site originate from people searching on material that is only remotely related to it.

For example, let’s say you type “French restaurant NYC” into Google. You then see a French cookbook in the midst of your search results. You click on the book and, since you are craving French food, you buy it. So, even though you were not aiming to buy a French cookbook, you did anyway. It might go against the grain of your common sense, but that often happens with human behavior.

And they’re off

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 20:36:00 +0000

With the primaries well on their way, we are beginning to see the real impact social media is having on the voter turnouts as well as the actual votes cast. For reference sake, I will note that on Facebook, Obama has an overwhelming lead with 61% of participants of the US Politics feature supporting him. Clinton has just 18%, and Edwards comes in 3rd with 10%.

On the Republican side, surprisingly, Ron Paul is the front runner with 37%. The support for the other candidates is split fairly evenly. In order, Huckabee is 2nd with 19%, Romney 3rd with 14% and McCain 4th with 11%.

Facebook doesn’t break down these figures further, for example, indicating the median age of supporters. However, it can be safely assumed that the majority of these folks are in their 20s and 30s and, thus, represent a voice younger than that captured by the polls conducted by CNN and other traditional news organizations.

With that said, the argument can be made that social media is having a relatively big impact for Democrats. In Iowa last week, where Obama was victorious, young people came out in record numbers. According to Time, “[t]urnout among the youngest slice of the electorate more than doubled from 2004.”

The same was true in New Hampshire yesterday. In a press release today about the state’s voter turnout, the presence of youth - deemed as adults under 30 - increased 25% from 2004, from just 18% to 43%.

An article from MTV.com about Clinton’s win in NH broke down the numbers. In Iowa, just 10% of Democrats aged 17-24 voted for her, while 57% voted for Obama. In New Hampshire, 22% of 18-24 year olds supported Clinton, but an astounding 60% rallied for Obama.

So how did Clinton manage to win in New Hampshire? While young voters are taking the most active role in history in the primaries, so is the rest of the population! In that same article, strong support from women, 46% to be exact, was cited as the reason for her win in NH. Apparently, women in Iowa don’t care much for other women.

Perhaps what’s even more telling about the success of social media in these elections is CBS’ announced plans this week to partner with Digg on coverage pertaining to the campaigns. It’s a you-scratch-my-back-I’ll-scratch-yours kind of deal. CBSNew.com will feature stories rated highly on Digg on their site and Digg will feature articles from CBSNews.com.

It’s nice to know that when all is said and done in November, our country is already well on its way to creating real change. Through the integration of social media, apathy is quickly becoming very passé.

Welcome 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:55:00 +0000

The New Year is upon us. In the past couple of weeks, we have been bombarded with predictions for what 2008 will bring. The common theme among them, of course, is the notion of change.

Perhaps this feeling is propelled by our political climate. After all, we will be ending the year with a new President. But along with that, we are also seeing that the technologies and industries to which we have become accustomed are morphing instep with the future.

The music industry, for example, is being transformed. In 2007, we saw popular artists such as Radiohead and Madonna reject the old conglomerate music machine by taking more of an active role in how their music is sold. With news yesterday on album sales at record lows - down 15% from 2006 - they are probably doing the right thing.

And just today, Catherine Holahan from BusinessWeek reported that Sony plans to sell its music DRM-free, meaning their songs will be sold without the copyright protection software that makes it impossible for songs to be bought online. Sony is the last of the top 4 big music companies to do so, solidifying what we already knew. Buying and sharing music online is not a fad and if you don’t get on that boat, your ship will sink.

It is thus probably safe to say that we will see more artists taking control in new creative ways in 2008. What’s not certain, though, is if the quality of music will improve. With Britney in the hospital, there is some hope.

Another interesting development to watch this year is the impact the g-phone or Android will have on mobile telecom. The iphone made mobile web browsing truly possible, but the expense and having to be an AT&T subscriber kept many from being able to take advantage of the technology. 2008 might mark the year we all go online on the go.

From these few examples, it is clear (and not surprising) that the Internet is going to play an even bigger role in our lives this year. It’s a good thing we’re in this business!

Connors in the New Year

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 21:14:00 +0000

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just days away and that 2008 is looming around the corner. The decade, which we have yet to name, is almost over!

It’s early still to reflect on the first ten years of the 21st century, but I think it is safe to say that we have come a very long way since the days of Y2K. In fact, in that short time, we have overcome the first web revolution and found ourselves basking in the glory of the second.

Some people laugh at the phrase Web 2.0, but it’s not just a gimmick. For example, yesterday there was news from the San Francisco Chronicle about a study recently conducted by Pew Internet & American Life Project on the propensity of teens to engage in online content creation and sharing.

The study found that “almost two-thirds of online teens have created something online.” The article then goes into the specifics of the data, the most impressive of which is the rise in the percentage of blogging teens. In 2004, the number was just 19%, where as now, almost 30% of teenagers blog in some shape or form.

And it’s not just a phenomenon reserved for the younger generation. We are all coming to rely on the Internet at an exceedingly growing rate. If you’re skeptical, just look at what’s happening to print publications. We’re clearly no longer getting information in the ways that we grew accustomed.

It is for all these reasons that in the new year, Connors will no longer be doing PR in the same old way. We have been split between traditional PR and SEO for years, but taking society’s changing ways into consideration, it is becoming more and more clear that the traditional PR road is no longer paved in gold. The road online, however, is looking very bright.

Our president, Connie Connors, recently spoke to Enid Burns of ClickZ about our changing direction. In the resulting article, Connie points out that the communication channels no longer equate to “one-to-many.” Rather, “many-to-many” is the formula that dominates, creating a “sphere of influence.” Meaning that, with the help of the Internet, we are all now playing a more active role in each other’s lives.

Our Brain and Google

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 16:47:00 +0000

Have you ever wished that you were as smart as Google, or that you at least thought with the same diligence? Well, it turns out, you do.

Scientists have discovered that the formula behind Google PageRank and how the search engine finds relevant information is very similar to the way we think, associate and remember.

It’s a truly remarkable discovery that makes a lot of sense once you think about it. Take the Google PageRank, for instance. Google determines a page’s rank or importance by the number of sites that link to it, as well as the importance of those sites and who links to them.

This means that if you have a website and 100 of your friends linked to your site from their sites, you might still have a somewhat low PageRank. This is because your friends are not really all that important in the larger scheme of the Internet. But, if you had a website and the New York Times and Newsweek linked to it, your PageRank would be pretty high, because those two sites are very important.

In this same way, our brains categorize information. Just think about all the nonsense you come across every day. Can’t? That’s because your brain has chosen to bury it in its depths; perhaps, on the 20th page of search results, for example.

Now try to recall what you were told on your last performance review. It’s all coming in crystal clear, isn’t it?

What’s most interesting to me about all of this is that we are learning about our brain function from formulas we (well not me, and probably not you… most likely someone much smarter) created for a search engine.

As an article in World Science pointed out through quoting this month’s issue of the research journal Psychological Science, the approach of the scientists who discovered this similarity “indicates how one can obtain novel models of human memory by studying the properties of successful information retrieval systems, such as Internet search engines.”

The article goes onto to say that, likewise, programmers developing new applications for search engines are “likely to find good solutions by studying the mind.”

Circular Entertainment

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 07 Dec 2007 15:49:00 +0000

Just when we thought we had it all figured out, Nokia released the results of a study it conducted on how we will entertain ourselves in the future. The prediction is grim, folks. Apparently, in the future, being a couch potato is very passé. Instead of basking in the euphoria that is sitting mindlessly in front of the television, just 5 short years from now, we will be engaging and actually creating our entertainment 25% of the time.

This phenomenon is being dubbed “circular entertainment.” Nokia gives the example of someone capturing footage with her cell phone, then sending it to a friend, who would add a soundtrack in the way of an mp3 file. This friend would then pass it to another, who would contribute yet another creative component.

Is this really how we will unwind in the future? Just thinking about it makes me tired, not to mention bored!

Tim Leberecht from CNET also blogged on this subject, cleverly pointing out that we should “take surveys sponsored by big brands with a grain of salt.” After all, it’s no coincidence Nokia uses the example of a mobile phone. Wouldn’t they just love it if we relied on our phones for more than just phone calls!

Well Nokia, I have news for you. Sadly, I rarely find myself wishing I had a video camera handy. My daily trip in and out of New York City is just not that exciting. Not to mention that I, along with about everyone I know, still absolutely prefers passive forms of entertainment to anything that requires more than a mouse click of effort.

But perhaps if we put aside Nokia’s ulterior motives with the cell phone example, we will see some truth in their prediction. As Leberecht pointed out, circular entertainment already exists in the form of social networking and reporters allowing comments to be made to their articles. Just this morning, a good portion of Good Morning America was devoted to reading viewer emails and responding to them. Isn’t this the embodiment of coming full circle?

It’s not much of a leap to “predict” that in 5 years, this phenomenon will only get more sophisticated and ingrained in our culture. Although, I am still a firm believer - or maybe just wishful thinker – that good old fashioned passive entertainment will still dominate our lives in the future.

Then again, if this writers’ strike goes on much longer, we will all have to get a little more creative…

Social Networking & Decision ’08 Take 2

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:46:00 +0000

This week, the Republican version of the YouTube debate aired on CNN. Compared to the Democratic debate, which aired several months ago, the conservative bunch did seem a bit more uncomfortable, which made it all the more interesting to watch.

If you recall, when the Democratic debate aired, there were rumors that the Republicans would not participate. I believe Mitt Romney said explicitly that he did not want to disgrace the sacredness that is political debate by allowing YouTube to lead it. Looks like technology won this round, and it is in the running for the next.

On Monday, news of Facebook and ABC’s partnership emerged, signaling another revolutionary step in our approach to elections and garnering news. ABC developed an application for Facebook called “US Politics,” which users can add to their profile. The application presents news on the election, and allows Facebookers to voice their opinions on certain topics, participate in polls and, most importantly, communicate directly with reporters!

How? The ABC reporters, whose articles are fed through the application, have Facebook profiles. As a Facebook user, you are invited to send them private questions and comments on their articles. Within this exchange, you can feel free to pose questions and issues that they can then raise with the candidates or investigate on their own.

Sure. This may not seem so profound to us, as in our profession, we engage the media on a regular basis. But the rest of the public does not. Actually, it is not far fetched to say that the majority of people are not even aware of how news comes about. Think about it…. How often have you been asked something as nonsensical as, “Can’t you just write a story and get it published?”

And while the ABC/Facebook partnership will be focusing on the presidential race, its success will determine how reporters interact with the general public in the future. Pretty soon, we might all find ourselves in the driver’s seat.

Christmas before Thanksgiving

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:44:00 +0000

The holiday season is upon us, yet it seems that in recent years, Christmas is center stage before turkeys are even bought or stuffed for Thanksgiving.

If we lived in most any other part of the country, this would be most evident in the malls, where sometimes even before Halloween, Christmas trees, wreaths, elves and Santas mingle with crazed shoppers. But we live in New York City, where instead of malls, we find ourselves in a stampede on 34^th Street with Salvation Army volunteers incessantly ringing their bells for people to throw pennies into their red buckets.

And it’s not just a result of getting older and time seeming to pass faster, it’s practically a scientific fact. Heather Dougherty from Hitwise points out in a Reuters piece about Cyber Monday that, "The holiday season is starting earlier and earlier every year, which is what consumers joke about, but it's honestly happening.”

So what happened to Thanksgiving? It’s a holiday after all, so why does it fall out of line with the “holiday season?” Once our jack-o-lanterns are extinguished, and sometimes before they are even lit, the holiday “spirit” in the form of growing anxiety about what to buy loved ones sneaks up on us. Couple that with story upon ad upon story about shopping this holiday season, and we are thoroughly inundated with one message: BUY BUY BUY!

Thanksgiving thus becomes irrelevant. As I was looking through the top dailies today, I was unable to find much on the actual holiday. Rather, articles on Black Friday and Cyber Monday were abundant.

But don’t get me wrong. I am not knocking consumerism or even the media’s approach to greeting the holiday season. Chances are that I too would be less inclined to read a story about how the pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving than I would about where to find the best sales on Friday.

Happy Thanksgiving… But more importantly, Happy Shopping!

More Ad Money Going Online

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 19:27:00 +0000

Online advertising is a growing business. According to a report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, “U.S. Internet advertising revenue rose 25 percent in the third quarter to about $5.2 billion,” signaling a new record for the industry.

Why the jump? Gavin O’Malley from Online Media Daily explored the topic in an article posted on Tuesday. In it, he quoted Nick Brien, worldwide CEO of Universal McCann, as saying, “ ‘If this happens for another year, significant clients will want to walk,” because all of them are “just waiting to increase their online spending to 50% or 60% [of their total budgets]’"

McCann’s clients are not the only companies dissatisfied with traditional avenues for advertising. In fact, many are “discontent due to increasing viewer fragmentation, disruptive technologies, and the resulting decrease in ROI.”

The truth of the matter is that each year, more and more people find themselves increasing the time they spend online. This shift is only natural.

However, marketing execs might soon reach a different frustration with the fact that ads online do not seem to stick in the same way as TV or radio spots. Josh Quittner and Jessi Hempel of Fortune asked readers on Tuesday to name 3 memorable ads they saw online. I couldn’t do it and chances are, neither can you.

Their article went to point out that Google is one of the few companies that has succeeded in creating a thriving ad platform online. Facebook is trying to follow suit, but only time will tell whether their interesting idea of users sharing ads with one another will work.

The bottom line for us is that all things related to marketing (if not all things in general) are expanding their footprint online. Yet, it’s not as simple as regurgitating traditional media campaigns online. The Internet is a different medium, after all, and it demands a little ingenuity.

Google Phone

noreply@blogger.com (Gina Bolotinsky) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 20:06:00 +0000

This week, Google revealed their plans for what they predict will be a revolution for mobile telecommunications. It’s called the Android and it’s about as sexy as you might expect an android to be.

Google, along with 33 telecommunication companies, has created the Open Handset Alliance. Their aim, according to the LA Times, is to “spur innovation by giving independent engineers the chance to write programs for phones, with no need for permission from mobile network operators or phone manufacturers.”

It’s a noble and hefty goal, especially when you take into consideration the current state of the mobile telecom industry in the States, which many deem to be a monopoly of sorts. The most recent news to hit this cord, of course, was that the iPhone can only be purchased if you have AT&T service. To put it lightly, we Verizon customers felt short changed.

The U.S. is one of the few, if not the only country to have this kind of set up. In other countries, cell phones are independent from service carriers and can be changed with a simple switch of a sim card.

Another issue Google aims to tackle through this endeavor is the inability for its ads to show up on many current smartphones. With Android, Google is creating a web browser for mobile phones that will show a website so that Google ads are visible and clickable. Google is then leaving it up to the companies in the Alliance to create the applications for their cell phones.

So, what can we, both the costumer and the marketer, expect? As a costumer, all phones with the Android technology will not look the same, so style and features will still highly depend on the manufacturer. However, we can all rest assured that surfing the web on the phone will become much easier and will resemble the experience we have on our computers much more.

As a marketer, it will mean the true beginning of mobile telecom marketing. Right now, we talk about it, but few truly consider it when developing a campaign. And for good reason, because for those of us without an iPhone, the Internet experience on a smartphone is frustrating, to say the least.

As the Android and its spawning cell phones develop, we marketers will be keeping a close watch. Overture (a former Connors client) and Yahoo may have brought us SEM, but it was Google that really made SEO popular. And now we also have Google to thank for the next step in MTM, mobile telecommunication marketing.