August Edition

Jessica Ek – Can You Digg It?

With the rise of Web 2.0 the Internet has gone democratic. Or perhaps it's under mob rule. Anyone can throw their hat into the ring on the topic of their choice. These ideas can grow, spread, and collect momentum through the various channels of blogs, social bookmarking sites, picture and video file sharing, or email.

And why should we care? Well, there's the obvious draw of a whole lot of buzz for any item that reaches critical mass. For instance, one post on BoingBoing about a Charlie Brown Christmas tree at Urban Outfitters, and the news spread like wildfire with dozens more blogs posting about the find. In two weeks the trees sold out and could only be found on eBay for double the retail price. We all know it can work. We know what it means to be Slashdotted. But how do we use this knowledge and best influence the space?

There are almost as many theories on how PR people should approach bloggers as there are influential writers in the blogosphere. Fewer guides exist for how to interact with social bookmarking sites. Social bookmarking sites are generally those that use tagging to organize information. This includes Flikr, Digg, Del.icio.us, and many others. Especially with our tech clients, it's important that news get here because it's the way that a lot of the early adaptors are getting their information.

If we do our job, news should naturally spread and pick up chatter here, but sometimes it needs a push. To be successful at this process of jumpstarting, we really need to actively be involved in the community. Every morning we go online to get our news and sites like Digg should just be another place to visit and get information. We see a lot of news just by surfing, so we could share some of this on the site as well. When we have client news to add, they'll be more inclined to listen. We're all busy and this is an extra task, but it can pay off in the long run.

So how do you post about a client and get others to also tag the site? Carefully. It's generally better if a third party can post the news. With a noticeable title, a blurb that gets straight to the point, and perhaps enlisting some help with a comment or two to get the conversation started, the news item should be noticed. Nothing promotional and try to only get others who participate on the site and are at different IP addresses. Astroturfing, or an artificial grass roots effort, is strictly taboo. But if you're successful, astroturfing is unnecessary and self-defeating; the news will be picked up and have a life of its own.

Ask Matt Mack

Margaret from San Luis Obispo, CA asks, "What's the best way to run an effective meeting with a client?"

Well Margaret, it begins and ends with subterfuge. To help you as you prepare for your next meeting, I thought it might be useful for me to document a meeting we recently held here at Connors.

10:35 – The client arrives five minutes late, but that gives us five extra minutes to train the drama undergrads we've hired to pad the office ranks. The client's entourage, seemingly very professional, but in reality also largely made up of drama undergrads, is immediately impressed by our office, which sports one wall entirely comprised of mirrors, making it appear as though there is an infinite army of PR drones all working in unison. This is a requirement for any serious PR firm (see PR Week's "Requirements for Any Serious PR Firm", June 15th, 2001.)

10:36 – It is always best to attend meetings with no preconceived notions about the client's "best interests." Doing otherwise often becomes an impediment to understanding, which often becomes an impediment to timely payments. We begin by trying to get our client to speak freely about their business and goals. It is also best to attend a meeting with no intention of starting a fistfight, unless the client is a dilettante or a dandy, in which case victory is assured.

10:55 – I awake to find the meeting is still going. Alarmed and a bit defensive, it is natural to feel the need to immediately enter into the conversation. Fight this urge. I instead spend the next five minutes making vaguely apologetic gestures toward my neighbor whose agenda I've drooled on.

11:15 – The promised "end" of the meeting has arrived, but we have not ended. This is customary, as the meeting will last another hour. To pass the time I begin to employ the "Hank Bewen Method" of meeting endurance, drawing a nonstop series of geometric doodles in a similar fashion to prison inmates in solitary confinement trying to stave off insanity and sharpened toothbrushes. Those inmates are often unsuccessful.

12:15 – After the client has told a number of off color stories regarding the legality or illegality of different actions in international waters, the meeting adjourns. But what's this? Our client begins to sweat profusely, despite the comfortable temperature in the room. Their face turns the pinkish hue usually reserved for well cooked ham, and as it happens, the client is indeed well cooked. For the sushi they've been enjoying all meeting long has been laced with a mild, but devilishly clever, nerve agent. We inform the client that the antidote will arrive in the mail soon after our bill. As we walk to the door, we do not shake hands and the client vows that "this is the last time". But it will not be.

Trust Me on This - Ben Hawken

Great Moments in Science: The Creation of MediaMap

Were it not for MediaMap, your average PR pro would have nothing to do but color code spreadsheets, look up Factiva articles without entering a billing code, and eat all the good chocolate in the snack drawer.

Years ago, in fact, an entire PR office might do nothing more in a day than procrastinate Timebase entries and consume Ferrero Rochers by the dozen.

In these more civilized times, however, the mighty powers of MediaMap allow us to find the names, contact information and beat of thousands of journalists who have listed themselves under the category "Not a PR Contact."

The basic structure of MediaMap was originally designed to act as an all-purpose food processor with, oddly, GPS capabilities and a sleek, heuristic MP3 player.

The food processor was so well designed that in addition to preparing the food, it would also serve it, eat it, do the dishes, berate you for not finishing your plate and deny you any dessert until after you'd finished your homework.

After passing on offers from IBM, Miramax and eHarmony, the creators of MediaMap sold their prototype to Bacon's and it was subsequently launched as a means to find journalist contact info, create contact lists and execute searches based on "metric value" (a euphemistic term carried over from the original food processor model).

Fast forward to 2006: Now, for a moderately outrageous monthly fee, PR pros can search for important press contacts as well as find people with funny names.

Looking to the future, MediaMap plans to gradually integrate itself into the space program and, in a return to its roots, develop a new online tool that allows you to design, personalize and order new flavors of ice cream.

Upon the completion of your new frozen snack, the automated system will then serve the dessert, eat, and leave the table without saying thank you.

Looking beyond the ability to synergize frozen delicacy delivery channels, MediaMap, in late 2008, will roll out a program jointly designed by the Bacon's brain trust and Connors.

This program will generate witty responses to insults handed out by reporters during standard media outreach based on insults you have been receiving throughout the week. The product can even suggest clever replies before you make the call based on condescending things a particular reporter has said in the past as well as insults the cool kids used against him in high school.

This ingenious new program will give your average PR pro more time to monitor important Web content and less time saying "thanks for your time" after being screamed at by an assistant copy editor at the Toledo Sentinel-Telegraph.

Editors Note:

The original works of Trust Me on This and Ask Matt Mack are for entertainment and laughing purposes only. These articles are opinions and sarcasm at its finest and should not be taken seriously.