{{myquote|Blogging is the new beige: a meaningless word that can complement the whole spectrum, from Noble Meritocracy to Malignant Narcissism.}}
Archives for July 2007
Granular Thinking
Posted on July 27, 2007 Written by
I’m almost finished with the theme for this week – just one more concept to flesh out.
Too often we simplify to an extent that’s beyond the reach of the supporting reality. It’s a normal part of the process of assimilating what we can from our environment. We don’t remember every stark detail of every conversation (unless we are my wife, and I am saying something that has the potential to be hugely embarrassing when recalled in 20 months or so.) We don’t memorize every rock along the side of the road. We do tend to watch for patterns that interest us, or are at odds with entropy. “Rocks don’t just naturally trace the outline of an arrow on the ground” we say to ourselves, and we impart some meaning or message from that.
This is the process of encoding – packing in the essential information in as few memory chunks as possible. If there is a need for us to remember things in more detail, we can focus and do so.
The two errors we have in encoding are encoding too much (like when I remember that my wife looked happy on Wednesday, but forgot the list of things she wanted for her birthday); and encoding too little (remembering to packs five shirts, five pants, and no socks – because we weren’t thinking of “full outfits.”) It’s a delicate dance between the two. If you never end up over-encoding, then maybe you’re remembering too many facts and letting some slip by. Or more importantly, maybe you’re missing the big picture entirely. If you always over-encode, you are making decisions today about the things you will never ever need to remember again. [Read more…]
The Mighty Mite 50
Posted on July 26, 2007 Written by
Congratulations to a fellow communicator for a job well done. Todd And(rlik) created a fairly objective index to measure PR and Marketing blogs according to popularity, reach, influence, and the ‘it’ factor. The Power 150 was good enough that he’s letting it leave his little nest, and fly to a loftier perch at Ad Age. (Note: I was never even close to getting those Legos on this site. Not even Duplo blocks.)
It just underscores the notion that we live in a flatter environment. One good idea can percolate from the bottom and gain momentum, and provide a valuable service to the whole community. Already it has inspired knockoffs like the Dirt 100, a ranking of the top celebrity gossip sites.
With that in mind, I propose the Mighty Mite 50: an online ranking of the 50 best Communications blogs that nobody is reading.
We’ll let the community nominate great blogs that meet certain low thresholds. We’ll post the lists, and let the community “rank” them… and after they get enough traffic to fly, we’ll graduate them to the Hall of Fame.
Todd? Scott? Michael? Anyone with a bit of advice on how to automate this?
[tags]Ike Pigott, Occam’s RazR, Technorati, communications, blogging, marketing, Ad Age, Todd And, Scott Baradell, Michael Sommermeyer[/tags]
Crisis is a Rodeo
Posted on July 25, 2007 Written by
{{myquote|In this modern era of television news, it’s not enough to be right. You have to win on both Logic and Emotion in eight seconds.}}
A Weak Me Too
Posted on July 24, 2007 Written by
I’ve been involved in online forums for years now. There’s one in particular where I have invested a great deal of time, where I recently crossed over the 5,000 post threshold. There’s a certain level of respect for seniority that is attached to longevity, but my reason for sticking around was more substantive. Three-and-a-half years out of the television business, I still go back occasionally – I like that it is a meritocracy.
When I was younger (and in that industry,) I had some thoughts and theories about how certain things worked and could be better. Like the vast majority of users, I had an online handle. The pseudo-anonymity gave us the freedom to say things that were politically incorrect without fear that search engines would attach our professional journalistic identities with ideas that might reveal bias. 
But it also fostered meritocracy – that one advanced in the pecking order by virtue of the power of his/her ideas. Had it been a truly transparent environment, many good ideas would have been bullied off the board. After all, how could a cub reporter in Billings possibly be right when compared to a reporter from Chicago? Obviously the one in the large market must be right… right? (Same holds true for blogs and rankings.)
Yes, anonymity was often a screen that allowed for bad behavior. In the midst of a wave of online congratulations about the birth of my daughter, one wiseacre openly compared her to a pile of… you get the point.
I’ve been on forums where there is anonymity, and I’ve been on forums that are wide-open. I’ve been a part of giant communities, and small intimate ones. I have a good understanding of the dynamics involved. And I am concerned… [Read more…]
PR and the Gray Zone
Posted on July 23, 2007 Written by
Update: companion piece posted at Strumpette.
Time for another Moment of Venn:
- Transparent
- Advocate
- Professional
- Transparent + Professional = Reviewer
- Professional + Advocate = Astroturfer
- Advocate + Transparent = Customer Evangelist
Transparent + Professional + Advocate = Social Media PR Pro
Now – a little explanation about why the guys in gray are facing an uphill battle. The communities that “P.R. 2.0” is so eager to “engage” and “influence” does not want them around.
It’s okay to go in as a reviewer with no financial ties to the outcome. It’s even better to be that amateur with a great love for a product or service. You can try to cultivate those, but you have to watch out that you don’t violate the rules of Word of Mouth marketing. It goes without saying that the Astroturf crowd is just a PR backlash waiting to happen. So why would anyone have a problem with someone who sits squarely in the center of the diagram? A clearly-identified professional advocate, there to share possibly valuable and fun information? [Read more…]