Communications Slop

“The modern chief executive lives behind a wall of communications operatives, many of whom ladle out slop meant to obscure rather than reveal.”David Carr– David Carr of The New York Times lamenting the way many CEOs have long interacted with members of his profession. Not surprisingly, he lays the blame on communications professionals. The quote appears…… Continue reading Communications Slop

Growing PR Spheres

Silicon Valley Watcher’s Tom Foremski has made a sport out of scrutinizing the PR profession these last few years (often with good reason). Yesterday, he raised a provocative question from which one might infer more disrespect for our perennially beleaguered profession: What are the implications when PR pros, who’ve built large online followings, use their…… Continue reading Growing PR Spheres

Why Newspapers Matter

In the wake of yesterday’s news that The New York Times had captured five Pulitzer Prizes, bringing its total to 101 — more than any other news organization — executive editor Bill Keller offered the following: “It comes in a year when a lot of newspapers are on the ropes, it is a reminder of…… Continue reading Why Newspapers Matter

Looking Ahead

Before I left for (a wonderful) family holiday, I compiled a list of some of the more notable social media and marketing predictions for 2009. It’s worth checking out here.Separately, my friends over at PR Newser crowd-sourced their readers (à la Peter Kim) for some 2009 “PR Predictions.”Here’s what I had submitted: Twitter, and the…… Continue reading Looking Ahead

Blog: You’re Fired

I finally got around to reading (my collector’s edition of) The New York Times late yesterday. I gleefully waded through the election coverage to eventually find SF-based tech reporter’s Claire Cane Miller’s piece on layoff rumors in the age of Twitter. Before I go there, wasn’t yesterday a glorious day!?I wonder if an Obama administration…… Continue reading Blog: You’re Fired

Matt, Say It Ain’t So!

So here’s a certifiable techno geek-turned-journalist named Matt Haughey doing his best imitation of Chris Anderson.Instead of blackballing misguided PR types by name, he’s deployed Gmail’s filters to eliminate whole domains from his e-mailbox. As a result, entire PR firms are punished for the amateurish and admittedly annoying transgressions of the few: “So for now,…… Continue reading Matt, Say It Ain’t So!

Extreme Blog Makeover

I like Scoble’s new home. No, not Fast Company, but the extreme homepage makeover that the FC’s web design team created for Scobelizer. It’s nicely organized, pleasant to look at, and has many of the cool apps, widgets and communities that Scoble loves to extol through his multitudinous channels: “More and more of my time…… Continue reading Extreme Blog Makeover

A Kodak Moment

Several months ago, I sat on a social media panel alongside Kodak’s Jennifer Cisney who walked the audience through her company’s employee-generated news content. It was compelling stuff with the right irreverent tone — not too commercial, a bit self-effacing, authentic, and informative with a decent amount of “gee whiz” factor built in — a…… Continue reading A Kodak Moment

Thin-Skinned Hippocrate?

No. I’m not talking about “Client-9,” but rather A-list blogger Mark Cuban whose actions this week prompted a letter of protest to NBA Commish David Stern from the Society of Professional Journalists.Mr. Cuban’ decided to ban full-time bloggers from his Dallas Maverick’s locker room. The feisty blogger explains his rationale (sort of) in a blog…… Continue reading Thin-Skinned Hippocrate?