Here's a shot of Team Newman in the wild at SXSW 2007. Many thanks to Joe Flood for the documentation.
This is the first year since 2006 that one or both members of Team Newman are not making an appearance at South by Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), the geek conference in Austin, TX.
It’s not that we haven’t loved it. Our SX adventures of yore enabled us to be among the first to try Twitter, discover Ze Frank, meet our good friend Joe Flood and give Gowalla a go. It also did wonders for our sticker collection. But after AT&T’s Great Network Failure of 2009, and attending one-too-many Twitter panels, we’re taking a break.
We wish many a Chris Brogan and Guy Kawasaki sighting, much fabulous swag and free beer to those thousands of social media guinea pigs in attendance. Have fun and consume tons of Stubbs BBQ for us!
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{Today’s guest post comes from my hubby and Web guy, Dave Newman, who shares three things PR folks should know (and practice) if you want to get your arms around the Internet.}
1. Stop trying to control where your message lives. The biggest mistake we can make concerning putting our stuff on the web is trying to rebuild what’s already working. Let’s use video as an example. YouTube has WAY more hits and searches than your site is ever going to have; they know how to deal with traffic and streaming rates; their file hosting is free and putting your video there improves your search ranking. Why would you ever try to do it another way? This guy agrees.
2. Always try the new free social network/web tool/app. I know, there are a million new apps out there every week vying for our attention and begging us to upload our fun little pictures to. How do you keep up and how do you know which to try? It’s easy. Try all of them that either you are interested in or your friends/clients/enemies are interested in. You never know what will catch on but signing up for all of them – even if just to try them – will never hurt your search ranking, exposure or how knowledgeable you’ll seem to your clients and friends. Read More…
A recent Pew Research Center study found that the Internet is now the third most-popular news platform, behind local and national television news and ahead of national print newspapers, local print newspapers and radio. Yep, our world has gone digital and–as my March Her Nashville column points out–if you’re not exactly tech savvy and don’t have a go-to geek in your corner, you’re missing a fine pixel parade.
Having a geek in your corner will increase your confidence and teach you a thing or two. If you don’t have someone to turn to for your slightly-intimidating social media and technology issues, find one. Among other things, your go-to-geek will:
• Encourage you to be your own guinea pig
Avoid the geeks that call themselves “gurus.” You don’t need a spiritual leader; you need the guidance of a tech-savvy person who encourages you to try your hand at social media, blogging, and good email etiquette. Through your relationship with this geek, you should begin to see in yourself increased confidence when talking about and using new media, not a gal who is rendered dependent on some secret geek sauce. Read More…
Overheard in D.C.:
“If YOU ask me to be a fan of YOU on Facebook, I’m not going to do it. That’s like handing out foam fingers with your own name on them.” Read More…
{Our next guest post is courtesy of D.C. flack and photographer Stacey Viera, who ponders how much disclosure to provide when promoting your clients on social networks and/or entering into partnerships with other vendors.}
“In the interest of full disclosure.” How often do you use those six little words? I would argue, probably not often enough.
I acknowledge that full disclosure can be overused. “In the interest of full disclosure, I’m married.” Hey, I didn’t ask if you wanted to go on a date. I just wanted to know if you were done with the Metro section of the paper so that I could read it!
But how often do we see a Tweet from a PR person promoting their “friend,” only to find that it originated from a paid client relationship? Or a Facebook link for a “beautifully designed new blog” that we only later learn was designed by the same person who posted the link? Read More…
I’m not even going to try and play this cool. About an hour ago, FlackRabbit was added to the PR page of Guy Kawasaki’s Alltop.com. OMG, I KNOW!
If you’re unfamiliar with Alltop, it is a content aggregation site that describes itself as an “online magazine rack” of the Web. You can view featured blogs by topics like babies, LinkedIn, recycling and social media. Or view every topic alphabetically on one page. Besides being a freakin’ big deal for me personally, this is also a great opportunity for FlackRabbit guest bloggers. Alltop gets a boat-load of relevant traffic; it will be great exposure. Read More…
Blogging might not be your day job, but your posts are reaching folks from 9 – 5 and beyond. Traffic is picking up, referral links are rolling in. Heck, folks are actually using your contact form. Looks like you’re gonna need a blog content disclaimer.
A good disclaimer doesn’t require a lawyer, you simply need to post some thoughtful language that conveys your blog’s purpose, content ownership and what you intend to do with the information you’re collecting on your readers. Blog Herald provides some great samples here.
For about two years now, I’ve had in my footer a disclaimer that reads: This is the personal blog of Margie Maddux Newman. The opinions, random thoughts, industry rants and emotions expressed here belong to her alone and are not those of her employer, husband, family or tea-cup poodle.
Today, with FlackRabbit’s rising traffic, the addition of guest bloggers, and due to the fact that more of you are using the contact form, this site now has a full legal page. On that page, you’ll find: Read More…
Clearly, people on Twitter enjoy reading about common PR career misconceptions. I know this because I’ve started to Tweet links to my posts using the free link-shortener and tracker called bit.ly. It makes your link smaller, thus, Twitter-friendly. And after you share your link, you’ll be able to see in real-time how many people click on that link, when it is re-Tweeted and by whom, and when it’s shared on Facebook and Friend Feed. Like this:
If you work at a place (or for clients) who demand metrics, bit.ly gives you the data you’ll need to see how much traction your message is getting. Read More…
Never.
As professional communicators, you understand the public humiliation and/or blacklist that awaits those who make their living at this craft via unethical practices. You are completely aware that The All-Seeing Internet will ferret out even the most casual white lie. Make no mistake, you’ll be found out in a matter of minutes (hours, if you’re lucky) by angry bloggers, curious journalists or savvy Web searchers.
I know you know that, but someone was unsure and Googled this the other day, stumbling onto ye old FlackRabbit:
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I’ve often wondered how one goes about creating a LinkedIn group. The other day, I found out by starting one for DC Flacks. Now, if someone at work asks me about the pros/cons/ins/outs of this particular tool, I’ll be able to speak with some authority because I’ve actually done it.
Some goes for the social media consulting I do on the strategic use of blogs, , PitchEngine, Facebook, Foursquare, Yelp, etc. I know how to do these things well because I’ve used them for myself and continue to explore their uses.
It’s the story of Team Newman’s life, really. Dave and I play around on the Internet and try out new things. The stuff we try personally often ends up benefiting the folks who hire us. It’s not that we magically know geekery, it’s that we get a lot of practice. Read More…
