navigate communications

The September 3 issue of PR Week included a Market Focus feature on Toronto called “North of the border views” (subscriber log-in required). As a proud Torontonian now based in New York, I read it with great interest. Quickly this interest turned to disbelief. I know many of the people that participated in the roundtable discussion and hold much esteem for many of them. Inevitably, the topic shifted to digital media and social media. With Colin McKay on the panel, I figured it would be a lively and insightful dialogue, but skepticism seems to have outweighed opportunity (again). Is this really the case?

I know so many talented PR and social media professionals in Toronto, but I feel that the panel has misrepresented the level of sophistication in the Canadian market. Trevor Campbell, president of Porter Novelli, was quoted as saying, “From where I sit, there’s a hesitancy. We’ve had places where we put everything into place, were ready to put a social media program in the field, and they got cold feet, which might be a bit of the norm here in Canada.”

Maybe this sums it up… “they got cold feet”. Social media can be scary, and can work against you if you don’t know what you’re doing. But doesn’t everything? Effective social media campaigns can have a profound impact on the way organizations not only communicate, but connect with the people that matter to them and who care about what they do.

The most important thing in the communication revolution we’re living and breathing is to remember what it’s all about: PEOPLE. Forget about the fact that technology is the great enabler. Don’t get lured in just by great design. People want a relationship. They want substance. They want to connect with people in similar circumstances, and people in the know. It’s pretty simple. And isn’t that what PR is all about?

PR professionals are used to relying on conduits to get the message out. We need to recognize that a news release is no longer a tool just for media. When produced and posted correctly online, it is a destination in and of itself for multiple readers (and viewers - don’t limited news to just text - audio and video are powerful enhancements). New media releases and digital news hubs redefine how news drives greater online visibility.

Toronto social media and digital PR pros, show your prowess!

Technorati Tags: public releations, PR, Toronto PR, social media, digital PR

Do I regret not buying an iPhone? Yes and no. I have seen a couple now, and while the device is incredibly sleek, there are some drawbacks that I hope will be resolved with the next version. Here are the reasons I resisted the hype and did not buy an iPhone. For those of you that really know me, this is a major feat. I am an Apple sort of guy (our house runs an Apple network for home entertainment and work). I am also a bit of a gadget guy.

1. As an “Internet device”, I would expect the iPhone to help me connect my computer online while I’m mobile, but this is not the case. It cannot function as a modem.
2. The Internet speed crawls from most accounts I’ve read. My wife has a 3G Motorola RAZR that rocks when it comes to a relatively high-speed multimedia experience, but the service is unavailable everywhere. I may in fact see if I can get my hands on the new RAZR2 when it comes out later this month (Motorola is a Fleishman-Hillard client). There is a great overview discussing why Apple did not incorporate 3G into the current iPhone from AppleInsider. Fortunately, iPhone users can flip to Wi-Fi if it’s available.
3. The battery replacement seems to be a major concern. The battery lasts approximately 400 charges and when it dies it needs to be returned to Apple for three days at a cost of $80 for the replacement battery, $7 for shipping and $29 for a loaner phone if required. Talk about a pain! Especially on top of a $500 - $600 purchase price and a minimum monthly service fee of $60 on a two year contract. Mind you, the service fee doesn’t seem to be too exorbitant.
4. Work at this point is not outfitted to support the iPhone. This is completely understandable, but the built in VPN features are something I’d hope to explore if I was to own an iPhone at one point.

These drawbacks were enough to derail my initial desire for the hottest new device. I am still envious when I see an iPhone. It’s cool enough, but lacks in practicality for my immediate priorities. That may change though. We’ll see.

Technorati Tags: iphone, apple, motorola, razr, razr2, cell phone, mobile phone

Here’s a great blog posting referenced in the New Media Release group about lessons learned on a recent new media release produced by GeoCommons’ agency. They blogged about the experience and provided a link to the release.

In particular, they seemed to do a pretty good job with their online editorial outreach (OEO) outlined in the following paragraph:

“Further, our outreach to the blogging community was value-based, not simply pitch centric, inviting the community to use the maps for their own purposes in whatever way they wanted. As such we started a dialog with several bloggers, and anticipate they will give GeoCommons a whirl. We really see this as a peering technology, and as such the world of social networks will drive the actual usage of GeoCommons maps to their tastes. So we anticipate that GeoCommons will be found valuable to bloggers and other social network users, and that the maps will start being used in place of older push-pin types of mash-ups.”