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Just in case you absolutely have to get an iPhone this weekend, here’s a wet blanket from PC World. Since I have come to absolutely hate my cell phone – as well as everyone else’s – I can’t see myself forking over the big bucks. Unless the thing will take over and drive my car when it rings or jump out of my purse so I don’t have to go fishing for it, I’m not game.The very best way for marcommers to find jobs is to peruse Ned Lundquist’s “Job of the Week.”This website for professional communicators has a cult following of more than 10,000 readers. Learned about this in New Orleans. Laissez les jobs roller, as it were. Visit JOTW on the Web: www.nedsjotw.com. |
Ahh, management! We've all seen the cartoons about lousy bosses and once we get the really cool office, we can't help but wonder if we're really that pointy-haired boss from Dilbert.
Here are some good tips from wikiHow on being a decent boss. They may not be singing your praises, but they also may not be making voodoo dolls anytime soon. Good luck.
offenders can read porn in jail? Or what about a weird photo of an angrey robin guarding its nest? This stuff isn't made up. In fact, it often passes for news. Caution. Reading too much fark can make you really dumb.
How should public relations professionals engage with bloggers? Chris Barger's presentation at the IABC conference in New Orleans provided some important tips.
1 Bloggers are in charge - When dealing with bloggers, you must play by the rules, even more so than with traditional media. There are no workarounds to get to bloggers--it's just you and the blogger engaged in an information exchange.
2 Don't think blogs and podcasts will increase sales - Blogs start conversations, but rarely generate sales. Evaluate your motives before working with bloggers.
3 Don't blogify corporate news - Sending press releases to bloggers -even if the language is changed to first-person "blog style"- won't impress bloggers. You've got to give bloggers information they can't get elsewhere.
4. Don't blog for the CEO -- PR people can generate speeches, op-eds and a whole lot else, but not blogs. A blog is better in one's own words, so hands off!!
5 Give bloggers what they want:
This little baby is so compact, it fits in you briefcase or purse. No word on where to put the fish once you catch it.
I'm at the IABC Conference in New Orleans for a few days. As always, most sessions focus on "getting communicators a seat at the table." (A message I've heard form more than 20 years, but who's counting?)
Diane Gayeski's presentation "Managing Communication as a Business Asset" made a lot of sense. Gayeski, a professor at Ithaca College, maintains that there are clear assets to great communications and it's the communicator's job to preserve those assets.
Gayeski talked of the value of these intangible assets: brand, customer loyalty, employee loyalty, corporate culture, knowledge and communication and feeback systems. "These are worth more than lunch money," she says. These are the type of assets used by analysts to value a company.
She reminds us that as managers of these assets, it's up to communicators to talk about them in hard numbers and measure them consistently.
"Scratch out your current title on your business card," says Gayeski, suggesting that you find a new title that includes all the important aspects of the company that you manage
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The British are so grand at awarding each other all kinds of honors. I love this story about lingerie tycoon Joe Corre rejecting his Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) award, which is an order of British chivalry.
Even if you're a little person, you could have a rather big carbon footprint. Check out your impact on the environment using this cool calculator. And, try to step a little lighter if you can (although, sorry, it will be hard to rip me from my clothes dryer).
The folks at FTD send me an email almost every day, telling me to send someone flowers. I took special notice of the flower arrangement shown here, which I believe to be just about the ugliest thing I've ever seen. I'm no expert, but carnations have always struck me as the tackiest. And, who sends flowers for Memorial Day?
Anyway, ya gotta give these guys credit for trying. Next time I need to send a friend or colleague a floral ice cream cone, they're the first ones that I'll call.
It's the coolest thing we've seen in months. So why are ads for the iPhone so blah? Most are nothing more than an infomerical -- a very expensive informercial to be sure. Perhaps the Apple guys and gals wore out their brains making this thing.
Chirs Jordan's photographs of American mass consumption are as disturbing as they are intriguing. Says the artist, "Statistics can feel abstract and anesthetizing, making it difficult to connect with and make meaning of 3.6 million SUV sales in one year, for example, or 2.3 million Americans in prison, or 426,000 cell phones retired every day. This project visually examines these vast and bizarre measures of our society, in large intricately detailed prints assembled from thousands of smaller photographs." Apparently we use 106,000 alumnium cans every 30 seconds.
Sheesh. Anyone ever heard of a glass -- it's recyclable, ya know.
Here is something we've all been waiting for ... A Canadian professor has developed technology that allows advertisers to count the number of people who look at their billboards and screens. Roel Vertegaal's Xuuk eyebox2 is a $999 portable device with a camera that monitors eye movements and automatically detects when you are looking at it from up to about 35 feet away.
Boy Howdy. If you thought those weird statues at Disneyland's Haunted Mansion were creepy when they followed your line of sight, this takes the technoloy 40 years later. Marketers can even track who is looking at what in a supermarket. Hmmm. Gives new meaning to, "What you lookin' at?"
I just survived a weekend that included eight ten-year-olds over for a birthday slumber party at our house. It was about 12 hours of non-stop giggling, whispering, arguing and singing songs straight from Radio Disney. And there were quite a bit of messy spills all over the furniture.
These billboards from BBC North America are not only innovative, they make you think ... and voice your opinion. The interactive element is truly phenomenal.
Remember this? Back in the day, it was one of the most important pieces in the arsenal of a marketing professional. Someday, I'll put together a collection of all the obsolete tools that were once so essential to a marketing job. Remember photo loops? Pica rules? Proof sheets?
Man, I must be old! Today's young marketers have no idea what I'm talking about. Just wait. Someday people will giggle when you say you wre proficient in Flash
Have you gotten an invitation to a Cabi party yet? I’ve received at least two and I’m not sure what to make of them.
Marketing is still perceived as “so much fun” – Yes, we all laugh at this, but marketing is still perceived as a glamour profession. I try my best to tell my students the dirty truth, but their minds are filled with fun and flash.
This is the coolest thing to happen since we all decided that Powerpoint is passé. Can you imagine your next presentation using this interactive multi-touch wall? I will bet that you’ll turn a lot of heads … and get exactly what you want from the board room.Here’s an interesting article about baby boomers not retiring early, primarily because they 
can’t. Ouch. That hit close to home.
Having spent a good part of my early working years thinking I’d rather spend than save, I’m not exactly what you call “sitting on a pile of cash.” Now, staying on forever at a job is ok for some professions, but it makes me wonder … is a 70-year-old marketing director credible? How about a 60-year-old marketing director?
What do you think? Is there an expiration date on when marketers can still “talk the talk?” I’m hoping there isn’t (see agelessmarketing.com). I’m hoping that maturity has some merit in our profession. Thoughts?
Remember when bands had Saturday morning cartoons? Wow, talk about pushing this stuff out to kids in a big way! This bit from the Jackson 5ive cartoon is great nostalgia from the 1970s. You’ve got to admit that little Michael was cute way back then.
a great piece to counter all the uproar over the London 2012 logo. The author is dead on. No one really cares much about logos anymore. 
I can’t decide if this is a cheap way of joining something akin to eharmony.com or if it’s an invitation for a lot of whackos in your e-mail box.
e advertising spotlights the career path of the president of the eastern division who started 30 years ago with the company as a burger flipper. She talks about how she learned leadership lessons behind the counter, customer relations skills, sales techniques, etc. (just not anything about nutrition).
Shrinks get the best stuff. Found this display of pharmaceuical SWAG on Wired.com through that great site boingboing.net.
Ask.com has a new campaign that touts the merits of “the algorithm.”
What’s an algorithm? Since I slept through most of my math classes, I won’t attempt to answer that question. Suffice it to say that they’re talking about the way Ask.com searches for information.
But this campaign misses the mark. They’re trying to make “the algorithm” cool by positioning it as super-smart. In doing so, however, they skip over the heads of most people who only give a mere seven seconds to processing any form of advertising. Just look at that banner ad citing Dmitry Sklyarov (computer programmer charged with violating software copyright). And there are other ads that reference the Unabomber. Huh?
In an age when everyone else is trying to make technology “friendly,” this campaign just makes the product more aloof. I’m afraid I don’t care much about “the algorithm.”
There’s been some interesting writing about ghostblogging. Check out Shel Holtz’s piece. I agree with him. If blogging is supposed to be about “the real” story from “the real” source, why are p.r. people blogging their CEO’s thoughts? It’s not exactly honest.Who knew the London logo (see below) would generate such an uproar? And the British say that Americans and the French get all emotional over trivial matters. Note that now the logo’s flash version is said to cause epileptic seizures.
Simmer down, friends across the pond. It’s just a silly logo. Make sure you have all your ducks in a row for the actual event and everyone will forgive you for a bad emblem. Really, mate.
I am usually the one to tell organizations not to obsess too much abou their logo. After all, it's the final product that counts much more than the graphic representation. However, in this case, I'll make an exception. Behold a truly hideous logo. It's the symbol for the London 2012 Olympics. In case you don't get it, the logo is an iconic representation of the date 2012. And it comes in shades of red, pink, green, orange and blue.
The logo cost about $800,000 to design and is supposted to "define the venues we build and the games we hold and act as a reminder of our promise to use the Olympic spirit to inspire everyone and reach out to young people around the world”.
But it's also really ugly.
Looking for the latest on the changing world of public relations? I recommend taking a tour through The New PR/Wiki. Even if you’ve had enough of Wikis, it’s worth a look. You may find what you’re looking for.
This just in from the "stuff you already knew" file. Cognitive Daily, a great blog about psychology, shows that women feel colder more frequently than men. As I sit here with the heater blasting in June (my husband is away tonight), I'll agree with this wholeheartedly.
So, if women are always feeling colder than men, why do clothing manufacturers want us to wear skimpy little blouses, thin little suits and evening clothes that are nothing more than glorified underwear? Hmmm. I wouldn't want to hazard a guess on that one. If you want to make money, sell flattering and fachionable clothes that keep women warm!
A site after my own heart ... the virtual shoe museum. The really cool stuff is under "experimental." Yeah, I can see stepping out in those babies in the middle. Ouch.
eyes about all the glam(?) of our profession. Others are taking a more practical approach and asking for advice from the trenches.
When my son was young and refused to pick up a book (fear of cooties, etc.), the teachers told me to give him comic books. "At least he'll be reading," they said.
Well, the "at least they're reading" theory may work on six year olds, but adults??? According to amazon.com, 47% of the households preordering the latest Harry Potter book don't have children.
What does this say about us? I'd say that it means today's adults are spending an awful lot of time reading material that is ah-hem, less than challenging.
Come on, folks. Harry Potter is great ... if you're 11. But, as the cold cereal ad used to go, "Silly rabbit. That stuff's for kids." Force yourself to read something more elevating than the tales of a teen-age wizard. Really.
I finished teaching another marketing class last night. The final class is always presentation of student projects, which can sometimes be a very cool thing.