Strategic Public Relations

Using Visuals to turn Data into Content | Four Links | 11.22.09

My appreciation for all things visual did not peak with my article on why PR needs visual thinking.

My focus on the topic has increased and there are plenty of sites driving this passion. Here are just a few of them.

The Popular Ones: It’s no surprise that Indexed and Post Secret have books stemming from their popular sites. Post Secret tapped into an entire world’s need for expression while Indexed shows us the power of simplicity.

The Smart Ones: Flowing Data and Infosthetics are my two must reads when it comes to the latest in data visualization. They even point to great content like this article outlining how to create an infographic.

The Wild Cards: Logo Design Love is arguably not a wild card, but it has helped me be more appreciative of the subtleties behind brand redesigns. And Strange Maps brings us visuals like the one to the right showing how large the social sites are getting. It's a great site showing the creative potential in combining the old and the new.

The Future: Google Swirl shows us how important visuals will be to navigate the data streams, rivers of news and content flowing all around us. I’ve also created a Twitter list to track many of the leading data geeks as this field continues to unfold.

The above are just a start. They don't include the media outlets that are also pushing visualization mainstream. The New York Times Multimedia section immediately comes to mind. But The LA Times has its Data Desk and, in my own backyard, The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Data Center and WLWT’s Weather Dashboard point to an even bigger picture of data in the future.

Fight Club 2.0: AdWeek’s Digital Hot List | Brian Morrissey Interview

Reading AdWeek’s “2009 Digital Hot List” it becomes clear we’re in store for a dynamic and competitive digital landscape in 2010.

As the brands on the list fight for market share, it almost reads like a script for Fight Club 2.0.

Brian Morrissey provided Strategic Public Relations his opinion on some of these brands and, in the process, some insight into the Hot List.

1) Social networks are comparable to a bar scene. There's always a hot bar everyone goes to until it gets old and they move onto the next hot bar. How long can Facebook hold onto their hot bar status that, in part, put them in your top spot?
MySpace was 3rd or 4th on this list a few years ago. The same could arguably happen to Facebook. Will it become uncool now that the demographic is expanding? Keep in mind the list is a present to near past snapshot of digital category leaders vs. a forward-looking prediction. That said there’s no reason to believe it will be less popular in the near term.

2) Hulu announced a pay model is forthcoming. With cable TV challenging Hulu with TV Everywhere coming from cable as a challenger, what do you think will happen next?
Hulu has been a trailblazing video delivery platform. They took a lot of heat initially. TechCrunch used to mock them – not anymore. They’re a catalyst for change in an industry desperately needing it. Digital distribution can work well for the television industry. The impact of a subscription on Hulu remains to be seen. But as I understand it, this will be a premium option and the base content will continue to be free.

3) What can mainstream media learn from the brands on this list? Bob Garfield would remind us they're all (f-ing) doomed, but if social is more popular than porn as your article states, can social save mainstream media?
There are challenges facing traditional business models and traditional distribution models. There are some traditional media on the list represented by their digital offshoots...but not many. WSJ.com is succeeding with its subscription/advertising model mix. Other media are now trying to organize around social as a delivery model. Readers are gaining increasing amounts of control based on their recommendations. They are beginning to determine traffic patterns instead of a Google algorithm.

4) Twitter is polarizing to say the least with lovers and haters. Can Twitter make money? It would seem that would quiet both camps and Twitter would settle down into a platform you either use or you do not use.
As far as making money, it’s not a question of if Twitter will make money, simply a question of when. Twitter is sitting on a mountain of real-time consumer intention data. There is a significant business leveraging this facet of Twitter. The recent Google and Microsoft deals underscore the importance of this information. If you start looking at Twitter as an intention data platform instead of a microblogging platform, it gets interesting.

5) OK, Rocky IV reminds me of Google and Bing. Bing seems to be Rocky to Google's Drago...they made Google bleed! Less than 10 percent market share/blood, but still. Is social search the next big fight between the two search super powers?
There was much debate with my colleagues at AdWeek on whether or not the $80 million marketing spend around Bing’s launch also bought it a spot on this list. Will it keep the gains it made on Google? As long as marketers want an alternative to Google, they have a shot. What’s a market without any competition? Bing is hope for marketers. As far as which one will own social search, that remains to be seen.

6) My last fight with a brand on the Hot List is iPhone and Android. The iPhone has more than 100,000 apps in its corner. But Android seems to be gearing up for a serious cage match with iPhone. Will the consumer benefit?
The consumer will definitely benefit by having another alternative to the iPhone. It’s tough to compete with THE mobile platform with 100,000 apps in their store. But if there is a digital war waged in 2010, iPhone and Android will be one of the battles in this war.

Fort Hood, Twitter and Real-Time News

Social media detailed a tragedy today.

 

While I learned of the Fort Hood shootings earlier this afternoon, it was a late afternoon scan of Twitter that connected me to the real-time news source set up by The Austin American-Statesman.

 

@fthoodshootings is an account quickly set up by the paper to create a dedicated line of real-time news around this sad and tragic story. In just a few hours the account already has more than 3,200 followers and is on more than 85 different lists as of publishing this post and climbing.

 

Unfortunately it’s not the first bittersweet example of how helpful Twitter can be in a crisis. Twitter became a lifeline of news and information coming from Iran during their election protests. During tragedy and crisis, a steady flow of information is more critical -- and sometimes even more elusive. The Sago Mine tragedy comes to mind as a time when Twitter might have been equally useful.

 

Statesmen’s Use of Twitter is Second-Nature

It’s no surprise that the Austin American-Statesman decided to report in this fashion. A Twitter power-user, their town is also home to social media festival SXSW and clearly Austin American-Statesman has made Twitter a seamless part of its news coverage.

 

Twitter Lists to Bring More News in Real-Time

For stories that aren’t breaking as quickly, allowing newspapers to devote more resources, you’ll surely see lists created to track story coverage. The Cincinnati Enquirer has already done so to cover its city’s recent elections. And Mashable points to other media outlets using lists to cover Fort Hood from afar. Real-time news is clearly in demand and Twitter lists ability to curate multiple sources in an easily-shared stream brings to mind multiple applications beyond just news coverage.

 

The stories are horrible. And let me note that my thoughts are with the families of the Fort Hood victims. But hopefully, by getting real-time news in this fashion, the Austin American-Statesman is ensuring the right story is told quickly.

 

originally posted at Social Study
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