Guest post by Todd Blecher, Communications Director, The Boeing Company

Much wisdom did Yoda accumulate. But experience with social media I think not the Jedi had. Yoda’s insistence that we “do, or do not. There is no try,” to brand journalism does not apply.

When it comes to brand journalism the instruction should be “Try. There is no do or do not.” In fact, since April, 2010, when we transformed www.boeing.com into a brand journalism platform, we’ve been all about trying. We started with modest goals and walk-then-run approach that has been essential to sustainable success.

Starting with walking seems obvious but not everybody does it. It not only builds your experience in a manageable way it also helps gain essential internal cooperation. We designed our initial stages as a trial run that could be halted relatively easily. Going slow helped address the unease of doing something new (aka risky) that we found in some corners. It got our nose under the tent and allowed for gradually picking up the pace when the time was right.

From what we’ve learned success with brand journalism seems to flow with the force of some basic principles outlined below.

First and foremost, as with any communications effort, brand journalism must be part of an overall communications strategy. If it’s not, its content will communicate in a vacuum, with little benefit to the organization and of little interest to audiences.

When thinking about brand journalism content an organization must recognize that the stories must, as Shel Holtz recently put it, “be inspiring, clarifying, funny, useful or just plain interesting.” Developing such content requires thinking like an audience member and not just a representative of the organization. Content that serves a communications strategy must be shared. Content that meets what Holtz outlined has a much higher likelihood of being shared than content that doesn’t.

Many organizations, however, won’t allow for thinking like an audience member. They should not do brand journalism.

For those ready to try brand journalism I would recommend hiring some former journalists. And I say to former journalists, as David Meerman Scott put it in this column, consider the opportunities of working for brands. Being that kind of journalist isn’t akin to joining the Dark Side, as some would have you believe.

Having former media journalists doing your brand journalism should save time, money, and aggravation because they are trained to create the engaging content that brand journalism requires. What’s more, they know the necessary tricks of the trade. Organizations doing brand journalism are publishers. They need to think about broad and timely content distribution, editorial calendars, and a strategy for repurposing stories. Former media journalists know how to do all that.

As you may’ve guessed, we have many former reporters on our team. While it’s possible to hire such talent on a project-by-project basis, the best brand journalism requires commitment, access, and trust. Those all seem to come easier for an in-house journalist.

When brand journalists think of what’s interesting to their audiences and create engaging content they generate stories that can, pardon the pun, really take off. Here’s one of ours that did. This story is about testing the brakes on our new 747. The test involves speeding an airplane down a runway then hitting the brakes just before takeoff. It ends with the brakes on fire, which is eye catching, to say the least.

That story had it all for our audiences: iconic airplane, an interesting test activity, and great visuals. We’ve had more than 1.1 million views, and our key messages about safety and durability reached more people through our website, YouTube channel, and Facebook page, than we would’ve reached with a traditional news release.

Another, albeit more unexpected success, came with this story about our Phantom Eye unmanned system. It has more than 400,000 views, a lot for a military story as those usually appeal to a niche audience. This one broke out by presenting a new and unique vehicle in a way that sparked imaginations and discussions.

We’ve certainly had our share of stories that didn’t work. Here are two: this one is about a retiring security dog while this story is about designs for World War Two-era uniforms. Our audiences didn’t know what to make of either of them.

Overall, however, we think (metrics remain a work in progress) that we’re succeeding more often than not. We’ve concluded that brand journalism is a very useful communications tool that, if an organization is prepared to properly pursue it, is worth trying. And doing.

Image Credit: Shutterstock

Guest post by Kyle Monson, a former technology journalist and editor at PC Magazine, is Content Strategy Director at JWT. Follow him on Twitter @kmonson

You probably already know this, but we marketers are the bad guys in the battle of good versus evil. One commonly employed metaphor—“The Dark Side”—is particularly apt: we hunt down Jedi masters and destroy Alderaan. The top guys in marketing might refer to themselves as ninjas, but siths is a better descriptor, depending on whom you talk to.

I hear the moniker all the time; after seven years as a journalist and editor, I defected a couple years ago and took a job at JWT. I’m constantly asked by friends and coworkers “How do you like working on The Dark Side?”

My answer: I haven’t blown up any planets lately, but my work is quite fulfilling, thank you.
JWT brought me on to lead its Brand Journalism practice, working with global clients and the agency itself to adopt the best practices of publishers. At its most basic level, Brand Journalism involves honest brand storytelling that invites the audience to participate.

Brand Journalism as a term has been accused of being typical Dark Side dissembling, but at its best, it can be a powerful combination of honesty, narrative, and audience participation. We tend to target the most intelligent and most savvy audience members—the influencers. These people are not easily fooled, they hate crappy content, and they tune out traditional advertising. It’s tough to reach them, but brands can do so by being real, addressing their information needs, and maintaining relevance in a real-time world.

In other words, we need to act like journalists.

Like journalists, we can create compelling content under extremely tight deadlines, and engage with communities in meaningful ways. Good and fast—that’s what we’re striving for with Brand Journalism. The marketing industry isn’t exactly known for creating good content quickly, but we’re working in a real-time world, and clients and agencies are realizing that they’re struggling to keep up. Brand Journalism can be a tool that helps them optimize for speed.

The marketing industry also isn’t known for its honesty and transparency—it’s The Dark Side, right? When I tell my journalist friends that I’m working to help global brands communicate more openly, they react with skepticism. An advertiser that acts like a journalist could be a mole, trying to trick an unsuspecting audience into consuming and believing whatever crap a brand wants to spew.

I look at it as quite the opposite: I’m a mole, but for the other side. And I’m not alone—JWT has a team of editors and strategists with journalism and publishing backgrounds. Other agencies and campaigns are hiring journalists as well. Together, we infiltrate big companies and convince them that it’s possible to work quickly and openly.

In my Brand Journalism work with Microsoft, we built what is essentially a news organization. Our audience of savvy IT leaders wasn’t interested in hearing from marketers and executives, so we tapped engineers, product managers, and even independent journalists to produce content. After our first year, our top five bloggers were averaging more than 19,000 views per post. By the second year, our best articles were being shared hundreds of times across several social networks.

We did it through speed, human interaction, and relevance. We published same-day responses to hot news stories, supported by ads that we could traffic with a 6-hour turnaround time. We interacted with our audience on Twitter and in blog comments, and we partnered with some of the biggest tech publications and tech journalists. Furthermore, we were always transparent about our relationships with those partners.

I doubt this level of speed and transparency will be a big deal five or 10 years from now; the industry knows it needs to move in this direction. But until it does, a company’s ability to speak honestly and quickly to its customers, fans, and detractors is a huge competitive advantage.

There’s a lot more to Brand Journalism than speed, relevance, and transparency—perhaps in a future post I’ll delve into how we incorporate balance theory and cognitive disequilibrium—but in the meantime think of Brand Journalism as a way of enabling brands and audiences to shine a light on themselves.
In other words, we’re trying to make The Dark Side a bit less dark.

This is part of a series on brand journalism as told by the brands that are paving the way. Please send me a note if you would like to tell your company’s story on its move to what Tom Foremski dubbed EC=MC, Every Company is a Media Company.

In recent weeks journalism and the future of all media have once again gone under the knife. Experts on either side of new media debated whether or not Twitter’s CNN moment truly was indicative of the future of journalism. Twitter’s role in the spread of online dialogue speculating the death of Osama Bin Laden was studied at great depths to better understand when and where news actually surfaces, how it’s validated, and how news travels across the Web and in real life.  Perhaps nothing visualized the power of a single Tweet with such dramatic effect as the network graph developed by SocialFlow.

Twitter is becoming a veritable human seismograph as it measures and records events as they unfold. But for this discussion, I’d like to focus not on the future of journalism, but instead on human behavior and the reality of the social effect. In doing so, we will identify the click paths and the sharing patterns of the informed and connected to learn how to design vibrant information exchanges on the traditional Web as well as in social networks.

The End of the Destination Web and the Revival of the Information Economy

In hindsight, the days of Web 1.0 seem like an era long gone. I think back to the early days of the Web and I struggle to think about what fashion, cars and popular music thrived as the Web radically transformed the then information economy. It’s as distant as the behavior that embraced it. For many, Web 1.0 was empowering. But to access information, we were reliant on our willingness to visit desirable websites for insight, entertainment, and news. Home pages, bookmarks and email subscriptions helped people manage the information overload that overwhelmed consumers with so much great content. Over the years, portals helped us manage the content by aggregating content from the sites and topics we preferred. We were then gifted with RSS feeds and readers to enhance the way relevant information found us.

The bridge between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 was forged through a series of connections between a Web of Data, a Web of Content, and a Web of People. Although abbreviated, this evolution is important as it sets the stage for where we are today. Web 2.0 is the great democratization of the internet. Everyday people were empowered to create as much or more than they consumed.  Among the greatest transformations in the history of media, traditional sources of information were now rivaled by new voices. These rising pundits, experts and authorities  seized the opportunity to create content that satisfied the needs of an audience who were hungry for vertical and dedicated content. As a result, the construction of new information networks strained the long-established relationships between push or broadcast content and market demand. The tipping point for this orthodox practice was reached long ago yet media is now just realizing its effect, potential, and also consequences. It was the beginning of the end of business as usual for the conventional media empire.

The transformation of media was only hastened as the Social Web fused the principles of Web 2.0 fostering social networks where people connected with one another to communicate, discover, share, and learn. Social networks carried a profound challenge and opportunity for media and information commerce. Leading networks essentially cannibalized attention as they rapidly evolved into a universal portal and information exchange. People now received news and important information based on who they connected to, what captivated their attention, and in turn what they invested back into the community. This important shift signaled the end of the destination web as the primary source for information and the revival of the information economy.

Individuals connecting in social networks exchanged information as a form of currency. When news broke or events transpired, it became commonplace for a traditional news outlet to dramatically amplify reach as the story reverberated from person to person and network to network at the speed of clicks. And those clicks carried a power that we’re still trying to grasp, the ability to, with just one click, imply endorsement, evoke trust, interrupt attention spans, and alter courses of action through a one-to-one-to-many network effect. CNN greatly benefited from this new distribution model when its Balloon Boy story hit Twitter, soared to the top of the Trending Topics list, and continued to permeate the social web for days to come.

While content long celebrated its reign at the top, context was now king and connections that formed the interest graph would now dictate the content introduced within it. As the social web matured, it would introduce a new form of information brokers who would further propel the information economy and its role in culture and society. The role of curator would emerge between creator and consumer to facilitate the exchange of relevant information within their networks of relevance and among their interest graphs. I refer to this phenomenon as The 3C’s of Information Commerce and it is triggering the development of new technology, networks, and platforms to empower curators to bridge material content to those seeking it.

Retweets, Likes, connected commenting systems such as Disqus, Facebook, and Echo, URL shorteners, curation networks such as Paper.li, Pearltrees, Scoop.it and Flipboard, along with any other social sharing button you can imagine now served as the tools for curators to curate the experience they envision. Additionally, curation expedited the migration away from static web sites as a destination, as a well from which to bring water back to their village. Wells were now in greater abundance than their demand.

Information is now portable and people expect it to find them.

This.Just.In

Here we are, learning to adapt in a market in transition. Online experiences continue evolve, but what’s clear is that there are three specific consumer segments that require unique support systems. This is where the future of media begins. By understanding that different people find, share, and interact with content differently, experiences can then be architected and information channels activated in ways that consumers expect.

1. Social Consumer: Represents the emergent segment where consumers rely on social networks to discover, share, and learn. Doing so changes the click and clique behavior and how they in turn make decisions.

2. Online: The category that visits destinations of presence for continued information. This category also relies on Google as a point of entry for discovery.

3. Traditional: Consumes content in print, broadcast and remains loyal to their trusted and proven information sources, including word of mouth. They too will visit online destinations, usually those that provide tangible (and tactile) experiences and value in the real world.

In a world where social, online, and traditional consumers live independent of one another, this market in transition is teaching us that the lines between each category are certainly eroding.

The state and outlook for new media, in the very least, represents the equivalent of a near death experience for organizations. These encounters are nothing short of life-changing. They add a critical element of survival into the next steps of anyone who now realizes that things can and must be different. As such, destination sites are embracing new media as necessary steps to persevere. Many of these steps seem prescriptive as if following an instruction manual to relevance.

Step 1: Integrate social functionality into the dotcom, remove proprietary functionality

Step 2: Create a Twitter and Facebook presence

Step 3: Launch blogs

Step 4: Instruct reporters to promote their work within their social networks

Step 5: Develop a layer for citizen participation and journalism

Step 6: Create a mobile app

Step 7: Create an iPad subscription service

Step 8: Install a paywall

Step 9: Gamify the dotcom to enliven the experience

Step 10: Pray

Brand Journalism

The future of media is not limited to everyday consumers. Brands too are becoming media. Tom Foremski refers to this branded media movement as “Every Company is a Media Company” and EC=MC is the transformative equation for business.

Once supported by brand advertising, media is now witnessing a new era of brand journalism that seeks to outperform and outreach the audiences that are for lease by today’s traditional networks. The market for information is now becoming rich with social objects that are designed not only for consumption but also for sharing. With the democratization of the web comes the democratization of influence. It’s now anyone’s game to become the resource and source for information related to a segment. Brands realize this and are experimenting with the establishment of nicheworks dedicated to their industry. Indeed the future of marketing starts with publishing.

Companies are seeking new CEO’s (Chief Editorial Officers) and are hiring journalists, editors, and freelancers to transform mediarooms and blogs into veritable newsrooms.

This move is as paramount as it is transformative. There are several reasons why the stars are in alignment for brand journalism.

1. Social consumers are no longer captivated or enticed by traditional advertising.

2. According  to a recent Edelman survey, trust in peers is falling while trust in experts is soaring.  It is the latter that holds the greatest promise for brands and any media network.

As social networking evolves from social graphs to interest graphs, connections also evolve from relationships to relations weighted on the value of the currency exchanged between them. In this case, currency is information and value is measured by insight, education, entertainment, further personalized at the individual level. While the market for content is commoditized, the market for insight is limitless and priced accordingly.

The Attention Rubicon

In Engage, I introduce the concept of an Attention Rubicon, the line where attention is in short supply and whether people realize it or not, its state is measured by what reaches them, what doesn’t and also what they deem worthy of sharing. The Attention Rubicon has long since been passed by the social consumer and is on the horizon of many online and traditional consumers. It will be crossed and as a result, the information economy will adapt.

Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism published a study that further details the shift away from the destination web and the rising tide of social streams as the attention dashboards of an important class of consumers.

As Pew’s Kenny Olmstead, Amy Mitchell and Tom Rosenstiel observe, “Whatever the future of journalism, much of it depends on understanding the ways that people navigate the digital news environment—the behavior of what might be called the new news consumer.”

This is why social media has never been about the technology as much as it has been governed by social science (2007) to better understand its state and its direction.

In partnership with Nielsen, Pew examined the top 25 news web sites in the U.S. and studied the four main areas of audience behavior:

1. How users get to the top news sites
2. How long they stay during each visit
3. How deep they go into a site
4. Where they go when they leave

As discussed earlier by the 3 Segments of consumerism, Pew found that there is not one group of news consumers, but in fact several. And as a result, news organizations or any organization for that matter, require unique strategies for addressing each audience.

Among the revealing insights…

It’s clear that social networks aren’t a fad, they’re not going away, they’re in fact rivaling the top referrers for site traffic.

The top brand news sites depend greatly on “casual users,” people who visit just a few times per month and spend only a few minutes at a site.

USAToday.com was typical of most of these popular news sites according to Pew. 85% of its users visited USAToday.com between one and three times per month. Three quarters came only once or twice. Time spent was even more daunting…when all the visits were added together, 34%, spent between one and five minutes on the site each month (footnote)

As Pew notes, online data tend to count some users multiple times, inflating the number of casual users and undercounting repeat visits. Nonetheless, casual users still would be the largest single group.

A smaller core of loyal and frequent visitors to news sites, called “power users.” These individuals return more than 10x per month to a given site and spend more than an hour there over that time. Among the top 25 sites, power users visiting at least 10 times make up an average of just 7% of total users. That number ranged markedly from as high as 18% (at CNN.com) to as low as 1% (at BingNews.com).

Google remains the primary entry point. The search engine accounts on average for 30% of the traffic to these sites.

Of all social networks, Facebook in particular, is a powerful, and growing, news referring source. At five of the top sites, Facebook is the second or third most important driver of traffic. Surprisingly, Twitter barely registers as a referring source. In the same vein, when users leave a site, “share” tools that appear alongside most news stories rank among the most clicked-on links.

News consumers to the top news websites are on par with Internet users overall. This stands apart from news consumption on traditional platforms, which tends to skew older, and may bode well for the industry.

The future of media is evolving and its direction is far from certain. What’s clear however, is that any media organization or business will have to compete for attention in this information economy in real time and over time. This is about competing for the future by competing for the moment. The consumer of the future is visible today as they’re always on. The interest graphs they weave within social networks serve as qualified information networks that can amplify information with unprecedented speed, efficiency and personalization. It creates a  human algorithm that brings to life an awakening and revolutionary reality; we are now reaching an audience with an audience of audiences. They’re no longer consumers, but stakeholders in the information economy.

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Following the news of Osama Bin Laden’s death, Twitter once again celebrated its CNN-moment. This isn’t its first however, which actually seems to be news to emerging media pundits. The new reality of a real-time world is that news no longer breaks, it Tweets. We are the architects of a new media alert system, TNN – the Twitter News Network. And, because of us, we have set a foundation for which news media can more effectively track, check, and report on breaking stories as they unfold.

We are connected, we are the new wire…

As I shared with Jon Swartz of USA TODAY earlier…

When Sohaib Athar (@ReallyVirtual on Twitter) inadvertently live tweeted the Osama Bin Laden raid, the Twitter News Network (TNN) proved once again that it is the live wire for everyday people to break news. When Keith Urbahn @keithurbahn published the first credible report that the U.S. killed Bin Laden, TNN was also the people’s news source. Is it the biggest event in social media? It is among them, but that’s not the point. What it does signify however is that the gap between events and reporting is where Twitter shines as a human seismograph. This is yet another example of the importance of social media and the role it plays in monitoring the pulse of world events.

Twitter isn’t journalism, but it is a perfect beast for committing acts of journalism. Long before the news media and as President Obama was learning about the details of the events in Pakistan, individuals following @ReallyVirtual, @mpoppel, and @keithurbahn witnessed first hand as the operation developed and the real news emerged.

There are countless stories that already unravel the Tweets to show how Twitter was well, just being Twitter…a conduit for us to share our experiences as we experience them. Instead, I would like to focus on you, me, and how the magic of shared experiences in social “me”dia come alive in what I refer to as the information divide…the space between an event and when media fact check and officially report it.

We are literally making the world a much smaller place. Tied to connectedness, Twitter is equally magnificent at merging reach and velocity.  The ability to propel news as reported by everyday people around the world in minutes consistently is as wonderful as it is surprising.  And if words are a gateway to one’s soul, in the digital realm, they are the portage to insight and analytics. Shortly after the hail of Tweets, Twitter published an interesting data report that demonstrates the breathtaking volume of our ability to share what moves us.

The Bin Laden news peaked at 11 pm EDT with 5,106 Tweets per second (TPS) following the all time TPS high set by NYE 2010 at 6,939 TPS. Most notably,  According to Twitter, the news event held the highest sustained rate of Tweets to date, hitting 3,000 TPS between 10:45 and 2:20 am, climbing to 38,7 million tweets in just  3.5 hours.

Social media monitoring and analytics platform Sysomos published data that was equally revealing.

In less than 12 hours since the tweeting began we saw almost 40,000 blog post and news articles and an astounding 2.2 million tweets all talking about Osama Bin Laden. As well, while no surprise that people in the US were talking the most about this event a look at our geo-location map shows us that people all over the world were tweeting about the news.

p.s. Congratulations Will & Kate. While we celebrate in this news, we also celebrate your marriage, your love, and the hope it gives everyone around the world that a market for “happily ever after” does indeed exist.

More on the evolution of news and journalism…

Interview with Dan Farber, Editor-in-Chief of CBSNews.com

Interview with Katie Couric

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I was asked to enter the Bloomberg BusinessWeek Debate Room to make the case “for” Twitter as a platform for journalism – at least that’s how I interpreted it. On the other side, ScribbleLive CEO Michael De Monte debates why it is “for the birds.”

But before we get too far down the path, let’s frame the discussion. The original debate topic posed by BusinessWeek, “Twitter Isn’t Journalism, Or Is It?” is a bit misleading  and honestly, I think it’s the wrong question to ask.

In his reaction to the question as posed, Jeff Jarvis shed light on its fallibility through a literal interpretation, “More like an undebate. Typing: journalism or not?”

Dan Patterson of ABC News Radio introduced helpful frames of reference in his Tweet, “It’s the wrong question. Twitter is a tool, the web is a medium, and journalism is an action.”

Perhaps Jarvis’s response is an example of what’s really at the heart of the debate, context. BusinessWeek’s headline as proposed is constraining. It implies Twitter as a platform is or isn’t journalism, which isn’t the intention, at least not in how it was presented to me. The bigger discussion is rooted in the action of Tweeting and whether or not for example, protected by the same rights as other media.

As Alex Howard signals, “There is a debate, whether you acknowledge it or not: shield laws now protect journalists, not acts of journalism.”

Perhaps, for the sake of this discussion, the question would be better asked this way, “Can Tweets represent acts of journalism?”

When we look at the question in this light, the original intention for the course of conversation is righted.

In addressing the spirit of the debate, GigaOm’s Mathew Ingram steers the discussion back on course with his response, “the answer is being provided by @acarvin and @NickKristof.”

Seeing the question in a new light, we need not look any further than NPR’s Andy Carvin for an answer. From the front lines in Bahrain, Carvin  Tweeted, “Later; too busy tweeting reports from Bahrain now.”

Twitter is a platform. And if journalism is an action, can Tweets represent acts of journalism?”

There are valid points on both sides of the discussion, but we learn a great deal more when we open it up to more voices. Please join us…share your thoughts.

Debate Topic: Tweets can recite facts, but Twitter doesn’t qualify as a journalistic vehicle. Pro or con?

To comply with BusinessWeek’s request, please click through to read the post in its entirety…

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The last post in the “Best of 2010″ series is an experience that won’t soon be forgotten. In 2010 I launched (R)evolution, a new video series that spotlights the people who are exploring and defining the future of business, culture, and media. In Episodes 11-13, I had the opportunity to sit down with one of my idols, Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC and correspondent for 60 MINUTES.

Katie Couric is every bit enchanting and welcoming as she is wise and thoughtful. Watching this series reveals a rare side of the person we see on TV. This is someone who is learning about the importance of new media and who isn’t afraid or above exploring the future of relevance. She is the first to say that we are all facing new media together…and together, we have much to learn. A master of traditional journalism, a mother of two daughters, a human being, Katie is looking at Social Media as nothing less than transformative to who she is professionally and personally.

To be honest, I was intimidated at first. As you watch each of the three episodes, you’ll notice a gradual shift from a formal interview to a conversation between two peers.

Take a moment to watch all three. It’s a very candid, sincere, and refreshing conversation. And if you’re like me, you’ll find that she really is America’s Sweetheart.

Part One: Social Media and Real-Time Journalism

Part Two: Privacy and Personal Branding

Part Three: Fact-First Journalism and Digital Identity

Past Episodes:

Episode 1: Empowered with Josh Bernoff
Episode 2: Silicon Valley vs. The World with Sarah Lacy
Episode 3: Rick Bakas on Social Media, Wine and Community
Episode 4: Charlene Li on Open Leadership
Episode 5: Michael Fertik on Privacy and Social Networks
Episode 6: Philip Kaplan on Social Commerce and Influence
Episode 7: Scott Monty Steers Ford to Social Relevance
Episode 8: Frank Eliason on the Social Business and Customer Service
Episode 9: Mark Burnett on Storytelling
Episode 10: CBSNews.com Editor-in-Chief Dan Farber on the Future of News
Episode 11: Katie Couric on Social Media and Real-Time Journalism
Episode 12: Katie Couric on Privacy and Personal Branding
Episode 13: Katie Couric on Fact-First Journalism and Digital Identity
Episode 14: Stanford Law’s Ryan Calo on Privacy Harm and Education

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In a landmark discussion where traditional media meets social media, we find ourselves realizing just how much we have yet to learn and also define. This is indeed our time to influence how new media evolves and also how it affects who we are and how we communicate with one another.

The final installment in this series with Kate Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC, takes us away from the discussion of social media’s impact on news and journalism and turns the focus to directly on you and me. Everything we do and say online defines our digital persona, which also casts shadows in the real world.

Here, two people simply discuss what they observe as human beings. From privacy to cyber-bullying to shaping online impressions, Katie and I bring to light the issues and opportunities facing parents, educators, children, peers, and who we are professionally.

As George Bernard Shaw once said, “Life isn’t about finding yourself, it’s about creating yourself.”

The Katie Couric Series

Part 1: Social Media and Real-Time Journalism

Part 2: Fact-First-Journalism and Digital Identity

Welcome to the (R)evolution, a new series that connects you to the people, trends, and ideas defining the future of business, marketing, and media.

Credits:

Andrew Landini, Producer, Director, Lead Cameraman
Adam Eckenfelder, Audio Tech/Re-Recording Mixing
Jason Fairbrother, Cameraman
Special thanks to Erica Anderson (@ericaamerica) who helped bring us all together

Location:

CBS Evening News Studios, New York

Past Episodes:

Episode 1: Empowered with Josh Bernoff
Episode 2: Silicon Valley vs. The World with Sarah Lacy
Episode 3: Rick Bakas on Social Media, Wine and Community
Episode 4: Charlene Li on Open Leadership
Episode 5: Michael Fertik on Privacy and Social Networks
Episode 6: Philip Kaplan on Social Commerce and Influence
Episode 7: Scott Monty Steers Ford to Social Relevance
Episode 8: Frank Eliason on the Social Business and Customer Service
Episode 9: Mark Burnett on Storytelling
Episode 10: CBSNews.com Editor-in-Chief Dan Farber on the Future of News
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As as I say at the beginning of this interview, I don’t even know where to begin, so let’s just go ahead and jump right in. In a special three-part series, I’m joined by none other than Katie Couric, anchor and managing editor of the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC, correspondent for 60 MINUTES and anchor of CBS News primetime specials.

When the CBS EVENING NEWS WITH KATIE COURIC debuted on September 5, 2006, Couric became the first female solo anchor of a weekday network evening news broadcast.  2008 was a pivotal year for Katie Couric, expanding her presence from traditional media to social media. During the Presidential campaign, Couric launched a series of important webcasts and a YouTube channel that gave viewers live, exclusive Web coverage of the election and the historic beginnings of Obama’s presidency. In 2009, @KatieCouric debuted as a weekly webcast, which features candid one-on-one interviews with top newsmakers. @KatieCouric also expanded its presence to Twitter, where Katie has not only joined the conversation, she’s actively investing in its future.

Please watch the first of three candid and fascinating conversations, which I hope you’ll find enlightening, refreshing, and also inspirational.

Please be sure to watch the next two installments:

Part 2: Katie Couric on Fact-First Journalism and Digital Identity

Part 3: Katie Couric on Privacy and Personal Branding

Welcome to the (R)evolution, a new series that connects you to the people, trends, and ideas defining the future of business, marketing, and media.

Credits:

Andrew Landini, Producer, Director, Lead Cameraman
Adam Eckenfelder, Audio Tech/Re-Recording Mixing
Jason Fairbrother, Cameraman
Special thanks to Erica Anderson (@ericaamerica) who helped bring us all together

Location:

CBS Evening News Studios, New York

Past Episodes:

Episode 1: Empowered with Josh Bernoff
Episode 2: Silicon Valley vs. The World with Sarah Lacy
Episode 3: Rick Bakas on Social Media, Wine and Community
Episode 4: Charlene Li on Open Leadership
Episode 5: Michael Fertik on Privacy and Social Networks
Episode 6: Philip Kaplan on Social Commerce and Influence
Episode 7: Scott Monty Steers Ford to Social Relevance
Episode 8: Frank Eliason on the Social Business and Customer Service
Episode 9: Mark Burnett on Storytelling
Episode 10: CBSNews.com Editor-in-Chief Dan Farber on the Future of News
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Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook

Welcome to the (R)evolution, a new series that connects you to the people, trends, and ideas defining the future of business, marketing, and media.

In a world where news no longer breaks, it Tweets, information finds us, because we expect it to.

Dan Farber is someone whom I respect and admire and he’s also someone I have the privilege to call a friend. Farber is the Editor-in-Chief of CBSNews.com and is one of the brightest minds in journalism, possessing a firm grasp on the intersection of technology, human behavior, and the business of news.

He joins me on Episode 10 of (R)evolution to explore the real-time media landscape and the 3C’s of information commerce. He shares his vision on how the business of media must now reinvent the design and distribution of information to connect with people when, where, and how their attention is focused.

News media are desperately trying to close the gap between events, when they appear on Twitter (TNN) and when we start to see official reports. We are the architects of our own social experiences and the content that flows through our stream is defined by our connections. Even though our Social and Interest Graphs are unique, news still makes its way to our stream. I call this the information divide and the pursuit of fact-first news and social media reduce the gap and improve opportunities for leadership.

The emergence of social and interest graphs change everything and now have us competing not only for attention, but also for the moment. People are now an essential part of the dissemination of content and must be factored into every step of the news cycle.

Credits:

Andrew Landini, Producer, Director
Adam Eckenfelder, Audio Tech/Re-Recording Mixing

Location:

CBSNews.com Studios, New York

Past Episodes:

1: Empowered with Josh Bernoff
2: Silicon Valley vs. The World with Sarah Lacy
3: Rick Bakas on Social Media, Wine and Community
4: Charlene Li on Open Leadership
5: Michael Fertik on Privacy and Social Networks
6: Philip Kaplan on Social Commerce and Influence
7: Scott Monty Steers Ford to Social Relevance
8: Frank Eliason on the Social Business and Customer Service
9: Mark Burnett on Storytelling

Photo Credit:
Thomas Hawk

___
Connect with Brian Solis on Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook

In the era of the real-time Web, information travels at a greater velocity than the infrastructure of mainstream media can support as it exists today. As events materialize, the access to social publishing and syndication platforms propels information across attentive and connected nodes that link social graphs all over the world. Current events are now at the epicenter of global attention as social media makes the world a much smaller place.

It’s a timely subject as Clay Shirky will discuss how Social Media can make history at this year’s TED conference. Indeed social media is changing, documenting, and also making history, revolutionizing once invincible industries that are now paralyzed by confusion, fear, and ignorance. Although they’re reacting now, it will take more than the iPad, Kindle, Nook and other digital readers to revitalize the business of media.

Information moves with or without them…

News no longer breaks, it tweets - demonstrating the efficiency, momentum, and influence of the human network. With every new iterative update, social graphs transform into a highly organized information distribution system that resembles an “Amber Alert” network for the social Web – with far greater speed, reach, impact, and resonance.

I once referred to Twitter as TNN, the Twitter News Network as it consistently beat traditional media in the race to report relevant news and trends. And as a result, Twitter and other social networks continue to earn an entrenched role as the primary source of information and breaking events for the hundreds of millions of people connected to one another at varying degrees within and across each network.

We no longer find information; it finds us. And, trending topics become touchpoints to the state of events as they unfold.

Accuracy vs. Immediacy

Social Media is only accelerating and in the process, it dramatically reduces the time between an event and collective awareness, growing increasingly pervasive and prominent along the way. As such, a divide now exists between the materialization and journalistic reporting of an event and as such, this gap immediately fills with tweets, updates, and posts as the crowd-powered socialization of information steps in to fill the void.

The information divide describes the chasm that exists between information as it rapidly spreads through attention dashboards of connected individuals and the primary reporting of news by mainstream media reinforced through the emergence of trending topics within each network. It is distanced by the time required to discern, document, fact check, and publish material information, competing with citizen media whether or not it is completely or only partially based on facts.

This prolonged cycle of journalism and reporting, while slower than the human algorithm that powers the now Web, is still unrivaled however, by its dedication to discovering, verifying, and reporting truth and fact.  In the race towards veracity, the checks and balances of new media systematically reduce error and filter hearsay and speculation and as a result, long standing sources are now slowly losing favor as a destination for revelation and instead, transforming into resources for intelligence as it emerges. In many cases, it’s the tweet, the Twitpic, the Twitvid, the livestream that serve the role of breaking (used as a verb) news.

While the divide is decreasing as media becomes more versed in the art and science of new media tools, the information divide also represents an opportunity for journalists to earn greater relevance. It is a necessary stopgap that validates information and feeds back into a system that can syndicate ratified content from news media through conversational media – gaining a broader audience with every linkback, blog post, tweet, Facebook update, et al.

It’s about proactively defining the shift from reporter to a new genre of influencers who essentially become media catalysts.

The Wire

Media is now forced to compete in an attention economy where the business of news is now a real-time competition for mind share, connectedness, and earned relevance. Today, competitive advantages, and all that benefits the business of news as a result, are defined by the ability to narrow the time span between pinpointing, validating and reporting unconfirmed events as well as the prowess to connect facts to important social beacons online.

The future of all media is rooted in engagement and its worth is measured by contribution, collaboration, and the extent of consequential relationships within any and all online networks of relevance. Influence is not only the ability to inspire action, but also a state of prominence.

The news desk of tomorrow is actually needed today.

Whereas the wire served as a source of breaking information to those who could channel it to audiences everywhere, social media is now a fusion of not only a crowd-sourced wire, but it is also representative of a living and breathing human seismograph that surfaces important events, online and offline.  As a result, active connections to the very pulse of social activity are now an unswerving qualification to sit at the news desk of tomorrow.

The acceleration of real-time content production is not only a form of immediate differentiation, it is also critical to survival. Part of what we’re learning in all of this is that the battlefield for attention and significance is not where we actually engage today. Instead, it evolves and transpires in the places where information is discovered and shared today. We are shifting from a destination-based news ecosystem to a participatory model of sourcing, engagement, and relationships that increase value by identifying and connecting stories to people where and how they consume and share it.

If information reach, velocity, and impact are measured by a human seismograph, news media must now employ social seismologists in order to measure and source the information that will enable them to effectively compete for the future as well as mind share, right now.

Collective Intelligence

We are all in this together.

Information is no longer an isolated or individual experience. We are connected to one another based on common interests and our ability to learn is now the result of collaboration and social syndication. The ability to plug-in to social networks and the invaluable relationships that define them is where the transformation begins and the journey unfolds.

A recent study conducted by Cision and Don Bates of the George Washington University’s Master’s Degree Program in Strategic Public Relations found reporters depend on social media sources when researching their stories – but not at the extent to transform an industry over night. Indeed conversations form a groundswell that escalates information to those who can extend relevant content to the next level of audiences.

55% of the journalists said that social media was “important” or “somewhat important” for reporting and producing stories…

Not surprising however, is the perception or the observance by journalists that social media is not necessarily the most accurate source of facts. 84% of journalists indicated that information was much less and slightly less reliable than traditional media based on the lack of fact-checking, verification and reporting standards. Here in lies the opportunity to source, verify, and report on breaking stories. This is how we reduce the delta that defines the information divide.

Of the various forms of social media used by journalists to find information, blogs ranked at the very top. And in the world of news media, it should prove both alarming and also as an opportunity (again) for reporters to focus on micronetworks such as Twitter (currently ranked as third) in order to tap into news as it breaks or Tweets.

As reporters become social seismologists, it is also the responsibility of the reporter as well as the brand’s social media director, to connect information to audiences who can thus serve as information emissaries to further extend stories to social graphs across the Web.

In the end, we earn the attention, relationships, and audiences we deserve. As a new hybrid of collaborative journalism takes shape, reporters who remain plugged-in to communities outside of their domain will open new doors to relevance – connecting to stories and people that propel information beyond the reach of any one network at the speed of the now Web.

Connect with Brian Solis: Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Facebook
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The Federal Trade Commission is seeking your input regarding future of news media in advance of its upcoming workshops. The FTC seeks to explore the digital impact on consumption behavior and its correlating effects on the the business of publishing and journalism.

The workshop will be held on December 1-2, 2009 and will consider a wide range of issues, such as Internet-related changes in advertising and the way people receive news, ideas for reducing costs and restructuring news organizations, potential for-profit and non-profit models for journalism, and the evolving competition among news organizations.

The FTC is asking for input on a series of questions to be addressed in the workshops, including:

• How is the Internet changing the way consumers access news and how advertising dollars are spent?

• What economic challenges do news organizations face today?

• What cost-cutting measures have news organizations considered? Which have they adopted, and how have they affected the provision of news to consumers?

• What collaborations are news organizations undertaking or considering to deal with financial challenges brought about by the Internet?

• How is the Internet changing the way news organizations and others research, write, edit, produce, and distribute news?

• What innovative forms of journalism have emerged due to the Internet?

• What are the business models, including the revenue sources, for journalism on the Internet?

• How are news organizations likely to compete for audience and advertising in the future?

• Are new or changed government policies needed to support optimal amounts and types of journalism, including public affairs coverage?

• Should the tax code be modified to provide special status or tax breaks to all or certain types of news organizations?

• Do current U.S. copyright protections provide enough incentive to create news content?

• Should the federal government provide additional funding for news organizations?

The Commission will consider comments received by November 6, 2009.

Speak now or forever hold your peace.

The workshops will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day at the FTC’s satellite building conference center, located at 601 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC. All attendees will be required to display a current driver’s license or other form of photo identification for entry.

For more information about the workshops, please visit http://www.ftc.gov/opp/workshops/news/index.shtml. To file comments, visit: http://public.commentworks.com/ftc/newsmediaworkshop.

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Today, St. John’s credentialed Peter Robert Casey as their official “Live Tweeter” for the 2009-10 season. Believed to be the first primarily Twitter-based blogger to earn a spot on press row anywhere, Casey will have a courtside seat to bring his brand of analysis and social media expertise to Red Storm basketball contests and the online community this next season.

With more than 50,000 users, Casey is currently among the Top 10 most-followed basketball-related users on Twitter. The Brooklyn, N.Y., native and Bronx resident trails only NBA superstar Shaquille O’Neal of the Cleveland Cavaliers, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, the Los Angeles Lakers, University of Kentucky coach John Calipari, Chris Bosh of the Toronto Raptors, Charlie Villanueva of the Detroit Pistons and a few others among those associated with professional, collegiate and youth basketball. Casey is, by far, the most-followed basketball-related individual who is not a professional basketball player, team or coach.

Casey’s arrangement with St. John’s Athletics is as an independent, credentialed Twitter micro-blogger, which will allow him to use his access to take St. John’s basketball from his behind-the-scenes vantage point directly to hoops fans worldwide, and in real time via Twitter. Casey currently brings a broad-based perspective on all things basketball to his massive following on Twitter, distributing links to news items, event coverage and feature stories, while providing an interactive forum for discussion and conversation. Through Twitter, fans of St. John’s basketball and the basketball community as a whole will be able to chat with Casey during live action – about the game, athletes, coaches, strategy, atmosphere or any topic that comes to mind.

Follow him on Twitter.

For the full story, please read the press release.

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Broadcast and print media and the services that support the creation and distribution of information are not dead and Social Media is not going to get indicted for holding the smoking gun.
These powerful, influential, and age-old industries are however, undergoing some of their most radical transformations and metamorphoses in order to adapt to the elusive and rapidly shifting information landscape.

Money is migrating away from traditional media as well as the industries and services that support it – from creation to distribution.

Is Social Media to blame?

Any expert, thought leader, or analyst will claim that this transition was christened in the 90s with the popularization of the Internet aka Web 1.0. And, those who have contributed to its evolution will tell you that “social media” is already starting to wear thin among those in their respective echo chambers. There’s a bell curve of adoption, and most of these discussions are on the far left of it. “The rest of us” will never refer to the socialization of information as “social media.” To them it will simply be regarded as media, conversations, reading, and sharing.

But behind the scenes, history is in the making.

Evolution is evolution – and it’s happened before us and will continue after we’re gone. But, what’s taking place now is much more than change for the sake of change. The socialization of content creation, consumption and participation, is hastening the metamorphosis that transforms everyday people into participants of a powerful and valuable media literate society.
These are the times that experts will look back and officially classify as the Social Revolution, distinctly and separately from the Internet Revolution. These is the genre when big media and its supporting services started to listen and we the people embraced and employed the ability to share our individual and collective voices.

We’re at the dawn of new era in media production, participation, and literacy. You are making history.

Death vs. Evolution

Media, in general, isn’t dead, it’s changing.
Yes print and broadcast advertising is down and online screen time is up. But, dollars aren’t evaporating, they’re migrating and propagating as we continue to invest in the top-down strategies that still work, albeit differently than before, while simultaneously investing in more niche-focused channels to reach and interact with specific groups of people directly.

In the last century, the world has witnessed some of the most incredible and radical advancements in the business of influence and perception management, including, but not limited to:
The printing press.

The wire.

Radio.

TV.

Satellite.

Network infrastructure.

The Web.

The Social Web.

Clouds.

Media is experiencing a textbook Darwinian definition of survival of the fittest as the human race and our patterns for discovering, sharing and producing content matures. It will re-emerge as a more dynamic, nimble, and innovative medium.
Mainstay brands will persevere, but the cost of their education to learn how to compete for the future will be great. Some will borrow models from those who already proved new rules for engagement, others will acquire and integrate the new and rising influencers who lead by example, and a few poor souls will wait until it’s too late only to awaken to a daunting challenge of creating and earning presence and relevance in a new economy.

The Evolution of Influence and the Democratization of Content

Looking back over the last several decades, it’s practically unbelievable to fathom the depth and vastness of our media-dependent societies and the pivotal role influence plays in defining who we are and what we believe. The business of information creation and distribution has driven and defined our global economies. In the last century, the increasingly rapid pace of innovation has globalized, localized, and streamlined the distribution of information, what we thought about, and how we processed, news, trends and current events – and in turn, influenced how our societies evolved in the real world.
In addition to pioneers, big business, lobbyists, and outside interests, the media industry was and still is shaped by journalists, entrepreneurs, enthusiasts, communicators, and zealots who were inspired to share their voice, their insight, and their passions, their way. Through news, editorial, opinion, and field reporting, media, and information, is the common thread that stitches people and societies together.

It’s how we learn.

It inspires us.

It contributes to who we are.

Towards the end of the 1990s, the Web, and its architects, forged the tools that would spark a renaissance of influence and empowerment. These tools would inspire people to build new interconnected platforms for content that would collectively and ultimately ignite a social revolution and usher a new exchange for information that has all the signs and economic potential of a modern day Industrial Revolution.

The Industrial Revolution was a period in the late 18th and early 19th centuries when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain. The changes subsequently spread throughout Europe and North America and eventually the world, a process that continues as industrialization. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human society; almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way.

The socialization of media and information is our Industrial Revolution.

For the first time in history, media technology and the tools and channels for broadcasting information has been disrupted and open for true global collaboration, while also effectively changing how people interact with each other.

The Social Revolution is the catalyst for the democratization of content and exchange of information, but we’re still experimenting and wrestling with the true impact of this change and how exactly these new models, on ev
ery side of the equation, will ultimately settle.

The sheer volume of social innovation, adoption, new literacy and more importantly, the evolution of human engagement using new tools is revolutionary indeed.

It has changed and continues to shape the landscape for the procurement and exchange of information, education, and ideas as well as impacting and cultivating the dynamics and economics of conversations.

It is influencing the business of how and what media and brands broadcast.

It is redefining how companies respond to the marketplace, including customers, stakeholders, and new influencers.

It is changing how people discover and share and also empowers them to create in addition to consume.

And, it’s introducing the study of peoplenomics or socialized economics and how we not only have access to the Web and a vault full of social tools to publish and share experiences online, we now also have the power and ability to shape perception and evoke emotion and responses that can positively or negatively affect our economy.

If necessity is the mother of invention, then observation, mobility, and reaction are the attributes of, and the spark for, evolution.

The era new media is inviting content producers, consumers, and participants to contribute to and invest in the direction of our economy, one conversation at a time. The democratization of content is humanizing the business of media as well as the companies, brands, services, and the products that define them.

In the era of Socialized Media, relationships are the new currency and participation and collaboration are emerging as the new information exchange.

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

Related articles on PR 2.0:
The Art of Conversation – It’s About Listening and Not Marketing
Free ebook: The Essential Guide to Social Media
Free ebook: Customer Service, The Art of Listening and Engagement Through Social MediaThe Art of Conversation – Thoughts and ObservationsThe Social Media Manifesto
Cultural Voyeurism and Social Media
Intel Insiders to Advise Intel on Social Media Strategies

I received a note from Andrew Finlayson, Vice President and News Director for Fox News Chicago – WFLD Television – myFoxChicago.com

Finlayson is part of a small, but dedicated and innovative team of journalists in Chicago who are reinventing how we view broadcast news. Think of it as cable news TV meets Twitter meets uStream, meets Friendfeed. LiveNewsCameras.com is an online portal that lets people watch news as it happens anywhere in the world by aggregating the video feeds from participating networks. Driven by their motto, “Veritas odit moras,” from line 850 of Seneca’s version of Oedipus, “Truth hates delay,” the team has has aggregated live news feeds from journalists and stations. There are over 150 channels of live, 24/7 streaming video from major markets across the county and the globe – with more added daily.

LiveNewsCameras.com started on Super Tuesday with only a couple of feeds focusing on the Republican and Democratic candidates. What started as a humble newsroom experiment has earned the participation of ABC, CBS and NBC stations.

Using Mogulus, the site also features a livecasting moderator who helps us navigate through the available and upcoming content. And media isn’t truly social if it’s not portable. You can also embed “the moderator” on your site, blog or social network profile and also interact them them and other views in real time.

It’s a unique destination as it mostly publishes raw, unedited video. For example they’ve been streaming the presidential candidates live every day, sometimes two or three times each day as they tour the country. No one else is doing that.

They’re also working on providing live video of the Pope’s visit to America funneled from several different television stations. Again, they’re the only source to obtain raw feeds of the Pope’s travels at every possible opportunity.

What this really means, is that as in any form of social media, LiveNewsCameras can take a local voice or view and create an international audience for any story.

I spoke with Andrew to learn a bit about the future of LiveNewsCameras, “We believe that ‘live on the scene on any screen’ is the future of news coverage. The team at LiveNewsCameras is seeing a dramatic surge in the number of newsrooms that are using new technology to stream video live. This trend is only going to accelerate with mobiles that can stream video. Soon everyone will be able to stream live video and LiveNewsCameras.com is going to be the one place that helps you find it while it is happening.”

As the site adds additional major markets, LiveNewsCameras.com becomes more pervasive and definitive in how news is broadcast and viewed – but this time, the world is watching, on the Web and not in the living room.

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

The Business of News

Chapter I – The Town Crier

Chapter II – The Printing Press and Newspapers

Chapter III – Radio

Chapter IV – Television

Chapter V – The Web

Chapter VI – Mobile Alerts

Chapter VII – Blogs

OK, yes it’s just a crude and simple representation of the evolution of news. My point is that blogs are merely the latest chapter, and not the only means for breaking news today. I think the New York Times neglected to write a more significant and complete story in its article, “In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop.”

Yes, we are traveling at light speed and not even realizing just how quickly we’re missing everything else around us. It’s like the movie Click where Adam Sandler fast-forwarded through his life only to realize that he had missed everything.

I had a heads up that the New York Times was going to run a controversial piece on blogging because they wanted to use one of my pictures in the story. I have yet to see the print version (although I hear my photo of Michael Arrington is on A29), but I have read the story online. If I were the type of blogger they were referring to in the story, I can tell you that I would have stopped everything I was doing to blog it yesterday. But I’m not in the news or scoop business. I simply could never keep up and maintain the already unbalanced, but happy, life I lead today.

The New York Times is making a case that bloggers blog until they literally drop and insinuates that its because they try to keep up with the frantic pace of news production.

It brought back a flood memories and emotions of two people whom I admired and respected, Marc Orchant and Russell Shaw, both of whom passed away after suffering heart attacks recently at relatively young ages. The NYT also pointed to good friend Om Malik, who at 41, survived a heart attack recently – thankfully.

The story really brought it home for me. It’s a painful reminder that life is short, too short.

According to the NYT, “A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.”

The story continues to paint a grim picture for the blogosphere and also quotes Michael Arrington of TechCrunch, the number one blog on the web, “I haven’t died yet. At some point, I’ll have a nervous breakdown and be admitted to the hospital, or something else will happen. This is not sustainable.”

TechCrunch has earned millions in advertising revenue, which was hand-built by Michael from the ground up. In the story, Arrington admits to gaining 30 pounds in the last three years, developed a severe sleeping disorder and turned his home into an office for him and several employees.

Arrington shares additional thoughts on the relentless conditions of news blogging, “There’s no time ever — including when you’re sleeping — when you’re not worried about missing a story. Wouldn’t it be great if we said no blogger or journalist could write a story between 8 p.m. Pacific time and dawn? Then we could all take a break. But that’s never going to happen.”

The blogosphere is 24/7, but then again, so is the news business. News never stops and it’s not unique to blogs – it just hits closer to home because now people, thanks to social media, can relate to the process of publishing content (there are over 100 million blogs in the world today).

Blogging is merely the latest chapter in the business of finding, scooping, and breaking news. Even with the slightest lead (milliseconds), blogs can appear to have broken the story through news aggregation sites and blog search engines, which can equate to greater revenues. But, it is not any different than the previous decades where newspapers and broadcast networks fought every minute of every day to break the stories that help them retain their position as the primary source for news.

How many heart attacks have gone unnoticed in the world of print and broadcast journalism over the last 100 years?

Unfortunately too many.

However, let’s step back for a moment.

I think we can all agree that the news business isn’t going to stop trying to beat each other to the punch. There’s acclaim and glory associated with scooping others. They’re rewarded for it in the form of awards, readers, and most importantly, money.

The Web is the latest medium that only expedites the hectic pace to publish and read news.

Nothing changes the fact that we, as people, are hungry for consuming information, and everything contributes to the rapid evolution of our society and our drive and satisfaction for quick news bursts wherever we are. And, whether you noticed it or not, news is finding its way to us any way and anywhere courtesy of new technology. We contribute to the “short attention span” theater by trying to keep up with the firehouse of content and it is reflective in the state of our engagement.

Doc Searls, whom I also greatly admire, has asked us to examine blogging versus flogging in his latest post in response to the NYT piece, “There is a difference in kind between writing to produce understanding and writing to produce money, even when they overlap. There are matters of purpose to consider, and how one drives (or even corrupts) the other.”

Searls continues, “One is about chilling out. Blogging doesn’t need to be a race. Really. The other is about scoops. They’re overrated. Winning in too many cases is a badge of self-satisfaction one pins on oneself. I submit that’s true even if Memeorandum or Digg pins it on you first. In the larger scheme of things, even if the larger scheme is making money, it doesn’t matter as much as it might seem at the time.”

Personally I blog to share information, ideas, and thoughts and observations that may or may not help people. I’m not in the news business. Nor am I in the blogging business. But eve
n still, it is a signi
ficant commitment, one I’m currently weighing in the greater scheme of life/work balance. I’m sure I’m not alone.

At the end of the day, I don’t pledge allegiance to any one blog or traditional media outlet for their reputation of breaking news. Instead I choose those who offer valuable perspective and insight to help me interpret it.

This part is dedicated to the good friends and thought leaders who are mentioned in this post. Alive or no longer with us, they have contributed significantly to journalism and the blogosphere.

Michael Arrington, snapped at the Churchill Club Bootstrapping event

Om Malik, shot at The Ladders party.

Doc Searls

Marc Orchant, shot at DEMOfall 07 in San Diego.

Russell Shaw

Connect with me on Twitter, Jaiku, LinkedIn, Pownce, Plaxo, FriendFeed, or Facebook.

Part Four of a series discussing blogger relations, “Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People.” Scroll to the bottom to read this article with a white background.

The New Rules of Breaking News was written to open your mind and unlock creativity when introducing new products and services. It subscribes to the notion that there isn’t one “audience” to any given story or campaign. There are opportunities outside of the usual routine of drafting press releases and blasting news to reporters and bloggers.

Shortly after the last chapter ran, I had not one, but two news announcements where stories either broke ahead of their intended time and voices. In one case, it wasn’t even part of the embargo process which was just unbelievable.

To the lead bloggers whom I had brokered these launches, it appeared as if I had mislead them, instead sending the news to others, even though I had assured them that they were given first rights.

In both cases, I took credibility hits and had to do an exhaustive amount of repair work to ensure that these and other relationships weren’t damaged because of the mistake, spite, or questionable activity of other ambitious bloggers.

I did take the steps to rectify things, and ultimately the “mistakes” were corrected…but the damage was already done. Any attempts to convey that to those affected may or may not regain trust.

So, rather than just share with you the ways to be successful or constantly focus on the future of PR, it’s also important to share the experiences where things don’t work out quite like we planned as a way of learning together.

In the realm of technology, this practice is all about who can be positioned as the “lead” story and tools such as Techmeme’s Leaderboard, Technorati’s Top Blogs, Bloglines Top List, Google Reader stats, and other highly referenced lists, only encourage bloggers to do what they can to increase rankings. After all, these lists influence and determine not only PR campaigns, but also where ad dollars are spent.

But it’s not just technology. There are lists that cover every market segment therefore the lessons from this post are helpful to anyone in PR.

What happened here sends an alarming signal, not just to me, but to the entire blogosphere and PR industry.

Outside of my two recent experiences. There are grumblings about foul play across the board that we should all understand.

The business of news can be ugly. There will always be an underground rivalry between top and up-and-coming writers for authority, links, views, and ultimately ad dollars.

The rumors and stories are thick with rife, including the manipulation of “time stamps,” copying and pasting from other blogs and sites without attribution, not disclosing any personal or professional interests associated with the stories they run, and running controversial or early stories with checking facts first.

However, this isn’t unlike the business of traditional news media, who have always been notorious for scooping each other.

This is business and business is never clean.

These enlightenments, however, force us to rethink the process of PR launches and news distribution, because at the end of the day, it’s our relationships that will carry us forward.

The message to us is, “be careful and do your homework.”

We walk a tightrope between client/company expectations and the relationships we maintain with writers and bloggers.

On one hand, those we report to want to see coverage and they want to see it everywhere. Most have no clue what it takes to make that happen, but they don’t care either.

On the other hand, relationships are the foundation for all good PR, and risking or compromising them should never factor into the news equation.

In the last post I wrote that bloggers were willing to honor embargoes as a way of participating in the business of news distribution. Many bloggers are trying to run legitimate businesses and having the privilege, and yes it’s a privilege, to receive news early is an earned right that offers mutual benefits between the blogger/writer and the company.

As I said, top bloggers are the new “wire” service. Providing them with early access to information allows news to bubble up, gaining credibility and momentum to the point where it attracts attention from traditional journalists. Bloggers have direct relations with people, your peers, and they thrive off of their participation.

There’s a difference though between top bloggers and those who aspire to take the lead, and those differences will ultimately determine who you can trust and who you can’t.

Maximizing coverage is a risky business. And unfortunately, there are many ways things can quickly go south:

- Not communicating the embargo time clearly, complete with time zones

- Not receiving a documented acknowledgment of the embargo

- Not fully knowing the reputation of the blogger beforehand

- Being careless and trying to go for too much right out of the gate without ensuring everything was set

Unfortunately however, the reality is that some of us will learn these lessons the hard way. And many times, these lessons come at a steep price, with reputation, trust, and relationships as the currency.

The best thing we can do is keep an open dialog with our best contacts. Talk with peers. Share experiences. There’s plenty to learn from others to minimize the mistakes and the steep costs associated with them.

In the attempt to earn the respect and trust of bloggers, many PR professionals are subscribing to a “Blogger Relations” code of ethics – although this draft is in dire need of revision (which will be a later post), but it’s a start in the right direction. WOMMA also offers 10 principles for ethical contact by marketers.

Perhaps many bloggers need to think about subscribing to a Blogger Code of Ethics. Breaking embargoes, changing time stamps, editing/barring comments, pilfering content, etc., is just not going to fly for the long term. And it’s unfortunate effects are that these practices will continue take down people and relationships in the process until we all do something about it. That’s the beauty of civil enforcement. Collectively we can dictate the winners and losers.

Tim O’Reilly has an excellent series on drafting a Blogger’s Code of Conduct. Forrester’s Charlene Li also got the conversation going almost three years ago with a call for Blogging Policies.

We as PR and communications professionals don’t need to support those bloggers or writers who don’t keep their word.

I know my word is everything to me and I will make decisions that only strengthen relationships and build trust, on both sides of the tightrope.

Most importantly, sometimes less is more. And, expectation setting is everything.

Breaking news with a few trustworthy bloggers and reporters may be more than enough to effectively align PR with business and communications objectives. After the first stories break, follow up with outreach to other primary influencers, but also find something unique for them in a way that helps them find a unique angle for coverage. Some will push back for not being included in the earlier rounds, and it will be up to you to consider opting them in for the future, but do so based on the discussions and trust.

Contrary to popular belief, the business of news isn’t formulaic. It’s less of a science and more of an art.

Make decisions that benefit your stories without compromising relationships.

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Related Articles:

Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People, Part I

Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People, Part II

The New Rules for Breaking News, Part III

Connect on Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce or Facebook.

Part Three of a series discussing blogger relations, “Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People.”

Now that blogging is crossing over into the mainstream, certain bloggers have earned a right of influence and clout that rival many of the top journalists.

Good friend Robert Scoble recently discussed the subject of blogger relations, embargoes and the process of news and launches in tech PR. Scoble, for those who may or may not know, is probably the one of the world’s most recognized bloggers. While his forte lies in tech, his influence if far greater. For Scoble to take the time to observe trends in PR and openly discuss them in the blogosphere is representative of an important shift in news distribution and the art of influence.

It got me thinking.

The business of news distribution, from a “smart” PR perspective is evolving out of necessity with new processes dictated by the more savvy practitioners. But in some cases, it’s important to expose the mechanics of the new media machine for the betterment of the entire industry.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little burnt on just being a “PR guy.” There’s so much more to what we do, so why not work on the PR for the PR and actually improve things.

Introducing news used to be pretty cut and dry. We’d start by running a press tour a couple of months in advance to the brief monthly print publications and analysts. Then as the official launch day would approach, we’d hit weekly print two weeks out and then online a few days prior – holding everyone to the same embargo date. The press release would then cross a news wire and some would support it with media outreach while others would cross their fingers and hope for the best.

This entire cycle seems like a luxury nowadays as the cycle of innovation is completely dependent on frequency in order to compete, and that frequency has radically shortned the span between communicating news. In turn, the business of news targeting and distribution is favoring short lead outlets such as newspapers, weeklies, as well as online venues.

Enter blogs.

Bloggers have changed everything and it’s sending PR people into a frenzy for how to launch products and broadcast news.

Yes, we’re talking about tech and maybe that’s not the industry you’re in. However, in tech, things work on a bit of a more hectic, hurried, and constant schedule, but the processes that we develop and evolve, wind up inspiring other industries. Basically this is edgework. We’re defining and refining new processes and strategies and bringing them back to the center.

So when tech bloggers emerged as part of the mix, we found ourselves rethinking (maybe scrambling in some cases) to figure out how to balance bloggers without upsetting relationships across the board.

Scoble states, “I’ve noticed that PR types are getting very astute with dealing with bloggers lately…First they’ll call Mike Arrington of TechCrunch. Make sure he’s briefed first (Mike doesn’t like to talk about news that someone else broke first, so they’ll make sure he is always in the first group to get to share something with you all). Then they’ll brief “second-tier” bloggers like me, Om Malik [of GigaOM], Dan Farber [of ZDNet], Read/Write Web, and a variety of others. Embargo us all so we can’t publish before Mike does.”

He’s partially right. There is a process, but trust me, it’s a process rooted in respect, admiration, and cultivating relationships (at least for the more effective communicators anyway.)

I’ve dubbed bloggers the new “wire” service. Providing them with early access to information allows news to bubble up, gaining credibility and momentum to the point where it attracts attention from traditional journalists. Bloggers have direct relations with people, your peers, and they thrive off of their participation.

Attention wire representatives, I’m not saying that bloggers have replaced you. Wire services are still valuable in not only sharing financial information and meeting disclosure requirements, they also have integrated with search engines allowing press releases to reach people directly.

Bloggers add a new step at the beginning of the process.

For example, one of the primary reasons that we launch most tech companies and products in “Beta” these days is because we want feedback directly from the people who would jump in early and give honest feedback as well as sharing the information with their friends and associates. And, if a product is in Beta, most traditional media wouldn’t yet pay attention. However, those journalists who do feel a greater sense of competition with bloggers in order to be one of the first to share new, new information, will make it known through their coverage.

This is why it’s so important to listen and read before you create any marketing strategy.

Working in Beta not only adds a new step to the communications process, it also affects product marketing as it also requires the team to factor in time and energy for a private or public focus group in order to build awareness and garner feedback.

Most traditional journalists these days want to hear about things that are either ground breaking or changing things in a way that is demonstrable by the massive support of the people who use it. After the beta gains momentum, and enough people use it favorably, then traditional media comes into play.

The next step after that is hitting the “magic middle,” bloggers who are defined as having a range of between 20 – 1,000 inbound links to their blog. These are the influencers who truly move the needle for customers and is among the best peer to peer marketing avenues you can pursue. In many cases, these bloggers are you prospective customers.

How do you share news with bloggers? Well, a lot of it has to do with relationships and for that, I suggest you read the series on blogger relations (Part I and II.) I can tell you that it’s different for different industries and there isn’t an exact science yet.

Certain bloggers maintain a higher authority than others, and while it fluctuates, most levels of influence remain constant over time.

The business of news has advanced quite a bit in the tech world, and by advanced, I mean that it has introduced a new layer to the equation.

Let me first clarify, there is still a thriving news business
within traditional media. In the tech world however, the art of Beta news is the new game. But, this is not unlike other industries. Early information, prototypes, leaks, R&D;, are all things that give bloggers their edge these days and, if executed properly, they only escalate the brand and the anticipation for new things among traditional press and ultimately customers.

But going to bloggers is tricky. Favoring one and not the other can cost you credibility and relationships. So borrowing a page from the traditional PR playbook, bloggers have embraced embargoes to maintain the privilege of receiving early information – in most cases.

I can tell you most certainly that I’ve had several instances where bloggers broke embargoes, which could have been costly if we didn’t have backup plans in place. I have witnessed the wrath that can result if one blogger goes before everyone else. It all comes down to relationships, having valuable news to share, and working with a select group of people that can really help build the community, while adapting to the way they work.

But this is the wild west. Live and learn.

Exclusives come into play these days still, however, they’re growing more rare. Offering one story to one writer may most of the time, limit the total visibility for any story, as most bloggers extend the reach to a more complete global community of people.

Scoble points to organic initiatives such as those executed by Kyte.tv and Seesmic. Both companies are embracing bloggers, and influential players directly, without PR, to introduce them to the product and let them experience it without influence. He openly wonders if these techniques may be more beneficial in the long run instead of playing the news game.

Well, to tell you the truth, you can still run both and be successful – as long as you’re smart and genuine about everything.

Working one on one with important people, whether they’re bloggers or enthusiasts, will only benefit you in the short and long term. However, this isn’t always a guaranteed success – even though anything rarely is these days.

Remember this…campaigns aren’t viral. People make them viral.

If it’s anything that Social Media has taught us is that we can empower people to help carry the word out to others. However, most executives are far too impatient to sit and wait for an organic campaign to get traction.

Now, an even earlier step can be introduced into the process as a way of gaining traction sooner. Before Beta, there’s Alpha and this is usually an experiment in organic marketing, driven by a sense of scarcity and exclusivity. Note, many companies also dub this “Private Beta.”

Most of the time, new companies and services are previewed in private, through either invitations, opt-in reviews, or password-protected links. Bloggers, media, and enthusiasts are all included in this round and empowered to share information with other peers to build up excitement. For example, microblogging service Pownce was almost an overnight sensation as it was introduced in private to a select group of influential geeks and bloggers. Their touting of access to the site combined with the fact that each were also empowered with a set of invitation codes, created a hyper-active market for invitation exchanges, with some actually going on ebay (and selling!).

As mentioned earlier, Loic LeMeur’s Seesmic is pursuing the invitation strategy and is currently in Public Alpha. This is unique in the sense that it still creates a sense of exclusivity, however, people are so excited to be part of it, that they show off their creations in public, thus fueling demand and increasing visibility for the up-and-coming company. Here’s an example of Robert Scoble using Seesmic to discuss Upcoming.org, which he promoted across all of his social networks.

Imagine for a moment breaking news organically without worrying about embargoes, but instead by using social tools and people through all channels of Social Media to share information before an official launch. Yes, it’s possible and is being practiced and streamlined now. But, we can talk more about that later as part of an upcoming series, “How to do PR without a Press Release.”

Social media is forcing an evolution in how companies share information with customers as well as those who also act as information intermediaries to the people that depend on them for guidance. The art of news is truly an art and it requires practice and experience. It also requires talent and creativity. The most successful ways of sharing news will be dependent on your ability to listen and by building and cultivating relationships with those who can help break news under the “new” rules of the launch.

There isn’t one way to work with bloggers, enthusiasts, and traditional journalists, but there are more than enough opportunities to do it the wrong way. Pay attention. Think. Be Creative. Have a plan. Build trust and ensure that your intent is genuine.

Conversations with the bloggers and media (and customers) will help dictate the launch and news strategies that are going to have the biggest impact and meaningful benefits for your company.

Read the full article with a white background.

Related Articles:

Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People Part I

Building a Bridge Between Your Story, Bloggers, and People Part II

Robert Scoble Asks, “Is Facebook the New Press Release?”

Connect on Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce or Facebook.

public+relations

In the first post of this series, I asked for your help in laying the press release to rest – as it exists today. Unfortunately, today’s release has evolved into a collection of posturing, hyperbole, and canned quotes that have very little impact on the ability to generate significant news coverage.

One of the most important takeaways of the last article was that a significant percentage of customers are reading press releases directly through search engines as well as Google and Yahoo news.

Wire services have opened up the door for company information to reach not only media, but also people directly through search and aggregated news platforms. Blog platforms have created a new channel for that same information to also reach customers through blog search engines and ultimately other blogs that may also link to the content. And, social networks have made it possible for information to be shared directly with peers in the communities where they go to discover and share news and relevant data.

If you really stop and think about it, press releases nowadays can tell a story in so many ways to so many different people. Traditional press and analysts are now only part of the equation, and depending on the industry, it may very well be only 25-50% of total readers, and in some cases it’s only 10%.

People are now relying on news releases as a direct source of information, so let’s take this opportunity to tell the story that matters to them. It’s about deconstructing 100 years of tradition and rebuilding something that actually works in today’s attention economy.

Who ever said that we only need one press release?

If it’s anything we should have learned from the eye opener (or more accurately the rude awakening) that is Social Media, there is no longer an audience for our messages. Markets are comprised of groups of disparate (The Long Tail), yet connected people who look for value and benefits in different ways. Therefore, a good story requires personalization. Oh, and journalists and analysts are people too, so if we humanize the process of writing releases, we might enhance the ability for readers to connect with the information.

At this point, there’s no need to debate over the value of search engine (SEO), social media (SMO) optimized or new media press releases. Let’s just write the stories we want our customers, media and bloggers to see, using the tools and channels that will reach and help them most effectively. And, this can also include company blog posts!

When it comes to evaluating release formats and the process of drafting a release, we first need to hit Ctrl-Alt-Delete to reboot how we approach a blank .doc file to prevent the usual spewing of BS onto a blank slate.

As I’ve said earlier, one press release no longer cuts it (I repeat, there is no longer one audience for a press release), marketing and hype are out, and transparency has cut the reins of message control.

Step back and approach it with a fresh perspective. Create a release that provides a story for those seeking information as well as the building blocks that will also help a reporter or blogger write a better article/post.

Here’s an example:

I can assure you, contrary to executive belief, adding spin to press releases as a method for instilling enthusiasm and demonstrating leadership to readers is ineffective, a turn-off and, it may actually incite backlash and public ridicule.

At the end of the day, press releases are about people and therefore should be written as if you were trying to help or inform them, not sell them.

Next up: Examining the differences between traditional, SEO, Social Media, new media, and blog posts.

Connect on Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce or Facebook.

blogger

The Seven Principles of Community Building: Geoff Livingston reviews the 7 principles of community building

Twelve things journalists can do to save journalism: Howard Owens lists 12 steps for journalists to save journalism

The problem with newspaper blogs is... Jeff Jarvis argues that newspapers should not be big brands but big collections of brands

Ten Questions with Chris Brogan: Guy Kawasaki interviews Chris Brogan on Social Media and Twitter

The Conversation: Carlie Flossberg explains the value of blogging to people that don’t get it.

The press release is on life support and I’m rallying a team of supporters to euthanize it – not to put it out of its misery, but to keep it from contributing to the misery of reporters, analysts, bloggers and the people who read them.

The process of writing and distributing a press release can be excruciatingly painful and is almost laughable when you read the final product.

Company X Launches World’s First, Industry-leading, Innovative Thingamabob that will Change Our Lives for the Better

Fantasy Land, Sept. XX, 2007 — So and so, a leader in such and such, today announced the world’s most groundbreaking, revolutionary, and never-before-seen widget and will change the lives of everyone who use it. Not only is it versatile and ubiquitous, but it scales across the marketing bell curve and in to the long tail. It is a disruptive game changing solution that forces a paradigm shift and, yes, it’s just that simple to use.

“We are excited and thrilled and happy and delighted that our new widget will change your life,” said a company executive who didn’t say this quote, but instead simply signed off on it since their PR person wrote it for them. “There really is nothing out there like it. We have no competition. This is something everyone needs; they just don’t know it yet.”

# # #

OK, so I think you get the picture.

The funny thing is that releases like this pollute the wires and search engines and one can only imagine how many revisions and contributors it took from the marketing and executive teams to ensure that every buzz word and useless piece of jargon made the final cut. The end product will usually say nothing about what it is, who it’s for, why it’s different and why it’s valuable and beneficial to the people to whom it’s targeted. Yet, everyone needs to get their hands on it as some form of self righteousness, demonstration of value, or simply job security.

But why doesn’t everyone already know this isn’t the best way to do things? The press release is 100 years old!

I recently joined a Bulldog Reporter panel to discuss “smart” press releases and the art of creating SEO (search engine optimization) and Social Media Releases and the differences and advantages of each over traditional releases.

As the conference rolled along, I found myself thinking that before we jumped into this important topic, we should have started with the basics of what makes a release worthy of attention – regardless of SEO optimization or Social Media optimization (SMO).

As you may or may not know, I’ve been a proponent of reforming press releases since I was able to integrate HTML and multimedia into them back in the mid-to-late 90s. Do you want to know the first thing I learned?

No matter how tricked-out your press release is with “extras,” if it is still full of garbage, then we’re only placing our trash in a fancier container.

This isn’t anything new however. Journalists have been complaining about the press release even before I was in the game, which for the record, has been for a long, long time.

What’s important in these remarkable times, however, is that whether it’s good or bad, technology has globalized and democratized information, allowing press releases to reach journalists and customers directly – without ever having to send a pitch or make a call.

According to Outsell, Inc. in November 2006, 51% of information technologists (IT) source their news from press releases found on Yahoo or Google News over traditional trade journals. While this is technology, I can assure you that this stat is probably equally significant across a variety of major industries. What this means is that press releases are no longer limited to journalists, bloggers, and analysts, but also read by customers directly in order to help them make important decisions.

So in the face of this revelation, why are we, PR, still insistent and stubborn about not changing? Why do we still firmly plant our feet, and our heads, in the sand and expect greatness, when in fact all we deserve is expulsion from the conversations that are taking place out there with or without us. Or are we simply afraid to speak up for fear it might cost us our jobs.

Maybe it’s just like the bad driver syndrome. It’s up to everyone else to learn how to drive because we are flawless. Still using the driving analogy, I can guarantee that defensive drivers are the least likely to crash when compared to reactionary drivers that mosey along highways with blinders on.

So if the path to writing better, more meaningful, and relevant press releases is a 12 step program, the first step is to move from denial and accept that as is, most releases should be euthanized. In the social economy, attention economy, conversation economy, or whatever you wish to call it, people, and the groups they represent, are now part of the equation, which completely change the game for all of us.

Stay tuned for Part Two of a multi-part series.

Update: The story is on techmeme as WebProNews re-packages the story.

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Next up:

Removing “audience” from the equation

The need for multiple versions of the press release

PR in the Long Tail

SEO vs. Social Media vs. Smart Releases

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History Lesson (backgrounder):

As a recap, the Social Media Release has been pushed by many influencers for just over one year now, including Tom Foremski’s public outcry for the death of crappy press releases; Todd Defren who offered the first template and remains an authoritative champion; Chris Heuer who helped lead an effort to propose a standard for their construction and distribution; Stowe Boyd who reminds disingenuous, lazy or opportunistic PR people that they’re not invited to participate in Social Media (and rightfully so); Shel Holtz (along with Chris Heuer and me) who hosted the original NMRcast, and continues to demonstrate the value of new releases; Shannon Whitley’s work to help PR “get it;” and the many others who continue to carry the flag forward.

And to all of you who continue to experiment with and discuss SMRs.

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Additional Resources:

Social Media Releases: Everything You Ever Wanted to (or Should) Know

YouTube Killed the Video News Release Star

How to Write an SMR Template (and what it looks like on the wire)

Social Media Killed the Press Release Star

How to Write a Social Media Press Release, Why, and What It All Means

How to Write a Social Media Press Release – Part II

Don’t Kill the Press Release, Shoot the Messenger

PR in the Long Tail

SocialMediaRelease.org

Society for New Communications Research

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Connect on Twitter, Jaiku, Pownce or Facebook.