Strategic Public Relations

Consuming the News through Feeds, Rivers and Trees

Prior to Friendfeed, one of the easiest ways to follow a byzantine configuration of blogs and websites was to build a list of feeds in a newsreader like Bloglines or Google Reader.

Friendfeed introduced the “river of news” concept. Some call it lifestreaming. OK, but doesn't life happen offline?

Semantics aside, the river of news makes it easier to scroll through blog posts as they're published. Friendfeed works great for browsing the latest. And while it’s not a pass through, it makes it tougher for me to keep up with an individual blogs' posts.  So from an archival standpoint, a feed reader has always been my mainstay.

Get on the Newsmap
When I saw Newsmap for the first time; I was impressed as it allows you to see a lot of news at once. But unlike news sites like Drudge Report for example, you can immediately discern which stories are getting the most coverage. I’d love to have the browsing functionality of Newsmap for something like Bloglines.

When I first read about Our Signal, I realized that my wish list might not be too unrealistic. According to the site,

Oursignal.com looks at currently popular items on the top social news sites (i.e. Digg, Reddit, del.icio.us, Hacker News) and mashes it all together in an interactive treemap, very similar to the well-known Google Newsmap. The idea is to allow users to get a rapid overview of what the latest breaking headlines are at the frontline of the intermatubes. The bigger the rectangle, the more relative votes a story has. The warmer the color, the quicker the story is on the rise. Cooler colors denote negative velocity.”

Treemaps, Rivers or Feed Readers?
Consuming the news is getting tougher to do. Sites like Newser are helping with big headlines, but a treemap/feed reader combo would make consuming the news a lot easier.

As news continues to flow, it's key to develop a smart approach to staying informed. What's your best tip for staying on top of the news?

Text vs. E-mail or Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants

Call me Mr. Obvious here, but I had an interesting experience at my coffeehouse recently.

Cashing in a frequent buyer’s card for a free, highly-caffeinated beverage, my barista encouraged me to sign up for information on future promotions and events.

She told me to write down my cell phone or, if I was willing, my email.

This struck me as odd. Personally I’d hand over an email address before I’d give over my cell phone number. My barista noted that most customers don’t consider a quick text (a temporary message passing through their phone) to be as intrusive as an e-mail (a permanent, official message clogging up their inbox).

This makes sense. But it also shows the digital immigrant in me.

Media Post reinforces this, noting “52% of Millennials strongly appreciate communication via cell phone or text message and 55% said the same about social networking sites. This compares with the General Population at 38% and 39%, respectively.”

Bottom line is that yesterday’s approaches are working less effectively today and they aren’t going to work at all tomorrow.

they’re already into texting uploaded by Kendrya

Ignore Everybody | BOOK REPORT | 08.25.09

If I had to sum up Hugh MacLeod’s first book as a Twitter post, it would be “to thine own (creative) self be true.”

MacLeod sums it up a bit differently in his final chapter: “Work hard. Keep at it. Live simply and quietly. Remain humble. Stay positive. Create your own luck. Be nice. Be polite.”

Not Your Father’s Business Book
MacLeod’s 40-chapter creative manifesto is a quick, inspiring read -- peppered with salty language.

This is only worth mentioning due to the rare cussing in business books. But in fact it reinforces a point the book makes about “drawing a line between what you are willing to do and what you are not willing to do” and the cost of commercial success.

How do you maintain the authority to draw that line? This answer involves one of my favorite parts of the book, “the sex and cash theory.” Creative folks have a job to pay the bills and a job that is sexy and their true passion.

Another interesting piece from the book discusses how once your creative idea starts to take root and get momentum people join your cause. Do they understand the idea and agree with it or do they just want to share in the momentum? If it’s the latter your cause could derail. I'll note that hangers on like to steer the train.

Ignore Everybody and 39 other Keys to Creativity
Both of the above examples make a point that this book is applicable to a wide swath of folks that are creative, consider themselves creative and want to be (more) creative. There’s some good stuff in this book and worth picking up a copy.

Pay It Forward
This book landed in my hands thanks to the generosity of David E. Bowman. So I thought it only fair to also pass it along in the hopes we can keep it travelling. I’m sending it North to Colin McKay, also known as Canuckflack.

Using Social Media to Engage Voters and Change the Conversation

The Cincinnati Union Terminal is enlisting social media to help preserve its home's past and ensure its future.

 

Cincinnati Union Terminal is an architectural gem in the Queen City’s crown.

 

The art deco-style railroad terminal opened in the early 30s and during World War II it served as a “major transfer point for soldiers,” handling “as many as 34,000 passengers on some days.”

 

Today it’s a cultural and entertainment destination with three museums, the Cincinnati Historical Society Library and an OMNIMAX theatre tucked comfortably into the massive, 10-story building.

 

Standing for more than 75 years, Union Terminal is in need of significant repair to stem damage that threatens its future. Tax dollars will be needed to save the public building.

 

But tax levies are a tough sell to voters who see the dollars coming from their pocket more than they might see the impact of these dollars. Cincinnati Union Terminal has even tougher odds on their upcoming levy -- an economic recession.

 

Connecting Past Memories to Future Need

Already using a few social platforms, the museum team realized social media could help change the conversation around the pending levy.

 

Myunionterminal.orgwas launched to educate taxpayers on the upcoming campaign, but its main feature is to “capture memories from the millions who have passed through Union Terminal's doors.”

“Myunionterminal.org encourages visitors to post personal stories and photos, view other visitors' memories and learn more about Union Terminal and Cincinnati Museum Center.”

Disclaimer: I’m not involved with the campaign site, but have provided input on other components of the campaign.

 

Social Stories

Union Terminal inspiresconsumer generated mediaand was a natural fit for this approach.

 

"Every day we hear about people's wonderful connections to Union Terminal and we're happy that many of these memories will now be located in one place," said Douglass W. McDonald, president and CEO of Museum Center.

 

But in reality, by giving visitors a place to tell their story and enabling sharing of these stories, the site is set up for story distribution as well, ensuring their campaign approach spreads. The site also has plenty of information how visitors can get involved by donating or volunteering their time.

 

While the site opened with stories in place, they continue to come in since the site launched in June. It's a smart approach. And it will be interesting to see its impact as the campaign unfolds.

As a member of the Museum Center, I'll be adding one of many stories the building has helped create for me and my family and I will be supporting the campaign as well.

Social Media & "The Highlander Complex"

A myriad of folks seem to be prescribing one right way of doing things in social media -- and piling onto anyone that diverts from the prescribed path.

Purists are claiming it’s their way or you lose while evangelists seem to be pushing you towards their latest shiny new distraction.

This applies to everything from asking FriendFeed vs. Twitter to paid vs. earned and brands approaching platforms like Twitter as open or restrictive.

Some of it is well-intended. But some of it is part of what I call “The Highlander Complex.”

"There Can Be Only One" 
I’m dating myself here, but the recurring line in the 80s sci-fi movie cum cult classic Highlander is the phrase “there can be only one.”

And while I understand how it applies to the Highlander plot, I’m confused as to why this is the case in social media.

There is a lot of sword rattling when someone takes a different path. Smart folks use it as an opportunity to learn another perspective and make their own decision.

At the end of the day social media is about individuals. Individuals make their own choices.

And when businesses are involved, there is a business case that influences their decisions. What works for Best Buy will work differently for Wal-Mart. Some brands might use IZEA; others will take a more organic, less campaign-oriented approach to Twitter.

It gets messy, and we all have our own preferences and POVs on this. But it is what it is.

In fact some of the brands we point to now as model social media citizens started out by screwing up.

Experiments Yield Innovations
Choosing your own path is usually the best part about social media. Some paths will certainly be more productive than others. But no one’s going to learn if we all follow each other around the echo chamber.

Do you have The Highlander Complex? It could just mean you’re very passionate about a certain topic. But that doesn’t mean you have to go chopping someone’s head off for not agreeing with you. Try to see it from the other side first before banging out an angry reply. Just sayin’.