Social Clout At Re/Code

Very few business news organizations enjoy the brand esteem and influence of Dow Jones’s Wall Street Journal. A prominent story within WSJ’s print or digital editions has the capacity to drive conversations, alter corporate fortunes (and stock price), and even affect government policy.On top of that, few professions, outside of technology or entertainment, have embraced…… Continue reading Social Clout At Re/Code

An Angry White House Press Corps

Over the weekend, I heard a segment on NPR’s “On the Media” in which co-host Bob Garfield explored the Obama Administration’s direct-to-constituent, earned and “owned” media strategies.The piece was filled with several mainstream journalists from the White House press pool complaining about their lack of access. The piece was aptly titled “Frustration in the White…… Continue reading An Angry White House Press Corps

Protected Tweets

During the nascent days of consumer generated media (CGM), communications pros obsessively focused on “mining the conversation” — think Dell Hell and JetBlue — and helping companies craft policies to avert the release by employees of defamatory, proprietary or material information into the burgeoning social and blogo spheres.The rise of Twitter and Facebook almost mandated that companies lay…… Continue reading Protected Tweets

A Lost Year for PR Agencies?

Who can keep track of the myriad year-ending media and marketing predictions posts? If you’re like me and don’t have the time to sift through everything the pundits have prognosticated, here it is in one take:We have officially entered the age of mobility wherein smartphones and tablets have overtaken desktops and laptops for content consumption and commerce. Plus…… Continue reading A Lost Year for PR Agencies?

Twinkle Twinkle Twitter Star

J. Paul Vance (AP Photo)The opening segment of CBS’s “60 Minutes” looked at the tragedy in Newtown and noted the fact that early reports, spread initially through social channels and eventually via mainstream media, were false. No, the killer’s mother didn’t teach at Sandy Hook elementary school, and no, it wasn’t Ryan Lanza, but his…… Continue reading Twinkle Twinkle Twitter Star

Paid Subscriptions to Twitter, Facebook?

Those of you who have taken August to heart and checked out of your digital information streams, a battle is brewing with everyone’s favorite real-time firehose: Twitter. It seems that the digerati’s lifeline is consolidating its power base by changing the rules that govern its API and specifically, third-party developer access to it.GigaOM’s Mathew IngramI…… Continue reading Paid Subscriptions to Twitter, Facebook?

Pinterest’s Growth Scheme: Genius or Sleazy?

Pinterest. Pinterest. Pinterest. Yikes, the noise is deafening. But will the latest social sharing site have legs? In yesterday’s fawning review in The New York Times, David Pogue cites Pinterest’s claim to be: “…the fastest Web site in history to break the 10-million-visitors-a-month threshold.”Fortune’s Dan Primack asks “How to slow Pinsanity. Nothing gets tech bloggers…… Continue reading Pinterest’s Growth Scheme: Genius or Sleazy?

Whitney, Twitter & SONY’s Tin Ear

Whitney Houston’s untimely demise produced all sorts of fodder for those following the machinations of the media and marketing worlds. Here’s a topline starting with a tweet from Mashable’s Pete Cashmore: @petecashmore Twitter Breaks News of Whitney Houston Death 27 Minutes Before Press RT @mashable From the Mashable write-up: “Twenty-seven minutes before mainstream media broke…… Continue reading Whitney, Twitter & SONY’s Tin Ear

The Social Majority

In a November 1969 speech, the much beleaguered U.S. President Richard Nixon borrowed a page from the Frank Luntz book of deceptive, but catchy phrases when he said: “And so tonight—to you, the great silent majority of my fellow Americans—I ask for your support.”The term silent majority entered the American lexicon. It was a euphemism…… Continue reading The Social Majority