AP's Battle with Bloggers Continues...

As I reported yesterday, the Associated Press arranged a sit-down with the Media Bloggers Association in response to boycotts over their litigious actions against a small Blogger who quoted and credited an AP story.

Now, the AP wants all Bloggers to pay to quote them. Yep. You read that right. The global press service has announced a Web Use Charge for AP passages as short as 5 words in length. This includes passages that are not stolen; not plagiarized - but fully attributed and quoted directly with links back to the AP source.

The pricing scale for using AP content begins at $12.50 for 5-25 words and goes as high as $100 for 251 words and up. Nonprofit organizations and educational institutions enjoy a discounted rate.

Now, I will always speak out against plagiarism. As a writer myself (and not just of this blog), I truly understand the total violation of someone stealing your work and your words. But, like so many of my colleagues, I can't get my head around how this pricing model will be enforced.

Rather than paraphrase what others are saying, allow me to quote them directly (for free and with all due accreditation).

PoliGazette.com asks: What’s considered quoting the AP? If President Bush says something, and the AP quotes Bush, are we then not allowed to quote Bush anymore because the AP also quotes him?

BetaNews asks: Suppose a news source holds a press conference and makes a statement to several attendees including an AP correspondent. Does the citation of that quote count as an excerpt of an AP story? What if Reuters cited the same quote? Or worse, what if Reuters cited the quote differently, and a Blogger noticed the difference and excerpted both for comparison? If the AP citation turned out to be in error, would the Blogger still owe?

Techachio asks: Should “boilerplate” words count towards the fee? For example, a phrase common among news stories is "XYZ Company had this to say" when prefacing a published statement or quote. If the AP runs a story with this phrase, will it therefore cost anyone else $12.50 to use this 10 cent expression?

Michelle Malkin, in a rather hilarious twist, adds that she found several examples of the Associated Press quoting her Blog directly (without links back or accreditation). Malkin estimates that by the AP's pricing model, she is owed $132,125.

With that in mind, I have most certainly seen leads from The Drudge Report and posts from The HuffingtonPost quoted in AP stories. Perhaps Matt and Arianna were adequately compensated.

And, I'd add to the debate: what about the citizen-journalists who break major stories? Talking Points Memo, for instance, broke the Alberto Gonzalez story - which was picked up by major news channels, including the AP. Was David Kurtz paid by word? TPM was also instrumental in the reporting that led to U.S. Senator Trent Lott’s resignation, which was certainly picked up by major market media. Other Bloggers like GigaOm and TechCrunch have broken major news and have been directly quoted by major media, including the Associated Press, with no Web Use Charge for its online reporting of their stories.

Likewise, if you read my blog, you know The New York Times followed Bloggers' lead in the Target PR blunder. Were those folks compensated when the AP picked up the story? And, what if the AP runs information gathered from Brew Blog, does Miller get paid?

Finally, how about Reporter-Blogs? As we've already seen, 95% of the top 100 newspapers offer Reporter-Blogs. Yet, traditional media are exempt from paying to reprint AP news.

Timothy Wu, a professor at the Columbia Law School said the case is not clear-cut, but he believes that the AP is likely to lose a court case to assert a claim. "One important legal test of whether an excerpt exceeds fair use is if it causes financial harm to the copyright owner. I hardly think a Blogger, especially one who has issued proper accreditation and who links web site traffic back to the Associated Press, can be proven to have caused financial harm."

So...the saga continues. I will keep you informed...

-- my two cents

image courtesy of bizarro.com

AP Responds to Blogger Boycotts with a Sit-Down

Certainly blogger credibility has been a hot topic here and now a new twist has come into play.

Here's the breakdown:

Last week the Associated Press filed takedown notices against the Drudge Retort (a small news community whose name is a parody of the more prominent Drudge Report) for use of its content on the site.

By Saturday, online protests urging bloggers to boycott the AP were set up by the aptly-named UnAssociated Press. The boycott encourages bloggers to make use of other agencies' material in response to the AP's takedown notice.

Meanwhile the blogosphere lit up this weekend with criticism against the AP for going after a small blogger who appears to be in compliance with "fair use" provisions of copyright law. (The Drudge Retort included links back to the AP articles and attributed proper credit to the original authors.)

Yesterday (Monday), in response to the blogger reaction, the Associated Press announced plans to meet with the Media Bloggers Association to help form guidelines under which AP news stories could be quoted online. Jim Kennedy, the AP's director of strategic planning, said that meeting's goal is to "create standards for online use of AP stories by bloggers that would protect AP content without discouraging bloggers from legitimately quoting it."

Today many bloggers are accusing the Associated Press of trying to control the blogosphere. Michael Arrington, a blogger who has boycotted the AP, wrote on his TechCrunch blog that the Associated Press "doesn't get to make its own rules about how its content is used, if those rules are stricter than the law allows ... they are trying to claw their way to a set of property rights that don’t exist today and that they are not legally entitled to."

Arrington goes on to outline his stance on the boycott, stating: "So here’s our new policy on A.P. stories: they don’t exist. We don’t see them, we don’t quote them, we don’t link to them. They’re banned until they abandon this new strategy, and I encourage others to do the same until they back down from these ridiculous attempts to stop the spread of information around the Internet."

Techcrunch hit home on the real issue here: fair use. Are people allowed to take small quotes from the AP stories for the purpose of starting a discussion or reporting news, while giving proper credit and linking back to the original author?

Intellectual property attorneys say the issue falls into murky legal terrain because the original law was drafted pre-web. And, it's isn't just the AP trying to navigate these waters. Last year, Google agreed to a licensing deal with Agence France Presse, which claimed indexing its leads to the wire service's stories amounted to copyright infringement.

Nancy Mertzel, a New York intellectual property attorney with Thelen Reid, explains the danger in any precedent set here, "If there was a court decision that said quoting from a news story was an infringement, then I think a lot of blogs would have to rethink their business model."

Kennedy said the AP had no intention of making such strict rules or setting any kind of legal standard. He also said AP was reconsidering how and when to send legal notices to bloggers in hopes of giving them "a little more leeway."

Meanwhile, some bloggers are upset that the Media Bloggers Association is even involved. According to Bloggers For Change, "...[the] Media Bloggers Association, of course, are walking right into that meeting because they crave nothing more than creating the impression that they, you know, represent bloggers (they don't). But anyone with an inkling of understanding of the law and principles at stake would know that the AP has no ground to stand on, and anything negotiated between them and the MBA will be ignored by the vast majority of bloggers anyway."

I am not a legal scholar, but I certainly recall my college courses in libel law and basic copyright infringement, and from my limited experience, I have to agree with TechCrunch and the others. As long as a blogger uses proper accreditation, there is no infringement. The blog, Copysense has an interesting and legal perspective on the case, which I encourage folks to read. It's rather long, but it outlines the specific codes of conduct that are currently on the books.

In the meantime, it will be very interesting to see how this plays out.

-- my two cents

Brilliant Beer Blogging From Miller

Can you imagine dedicating staff to do nothing but blog about your competitors? To report on their news? Run their press releases and re-run their articles? Well, in a stunning blogging strategy, Miller Brewing Company has done just that.

Brew Blog is not your typical stealth blog in that it is clearly labeled as being “brought to you by the Miller Brewing Company.” What it is, is the most ingenious corporate blog I’ve seen in quite some time. Miller hired former a Advertising Age reporter, James Arndorfer, to cover their industry, including the competition. They instructed him to write just like a beat reporter would.

The brilliance is that they’ve created a legitimate source for industry news (product launches, Nielsen sales stats, etc.) across all beer makers. By offering information that is genuinely useful to media, the blog becomes a go-to source for the press. They cover all companies to get the draw, and then toss in their own news to a waiting audience.

But, the best part is it’s written with just the slightest nuance of commentary. Take the post: More Bud/Bud Light Extensions on Tap?

In this post, they say: Back in January, Anheuser-Busch told Brandweek that it planned to tone down its new product push and focus on its core brands…Since then, of course, A-B has announced plans to introduce Bud Light Lime…

That “of course” is brilliant strategy. It is so subtle, but implies so much. (i.e. “back in Jan, they said they’d do this…then – of course – they did that”) It subliminally positions the competition as less-than-credible.

According to David Kesmodle’s WSJ article, Brew Blog is the brainchild of Paul Pendergrass and Pete Marino, communications consultants for Miller who wanted Miller to have more influence over what's covered in the industry. The site reaches mostly beer-industry professionals and received about 24,000 visits in the month ending April 10 -- representing more than 12,000 individual visitors.

Kesmodle uncovered another great example of the slyness behind this strategy in his article: In February, Mr. Arndorfer's industry sources were telling him that Anheuser was planning a lime-flavored version of Bud Light, the world's best-selling beer. He posted an article saying Anheuser appeared poised to roll out a knockoff of Miller Chill, a lime-and-salt-flavored brew launched by Miller last year. The scoop, chased by this and other publications, allowed Miller to paint Bud Light Lime as a "follower," says Nehl Horton, Miller's senior vice president for communications.

Just brilliant.

So, kudos to Miller for a truly unique, super-stealth, and - by all accounts - successful blogging strategy! You’ve definitely raised the bar for us.

--my two cents

Holy Viral Marketing, Batman!

In January, I pondered the future of The Dark Knight’s viral marketing/PR campaign after the tragic loss of Heath Ledger. As you may recall, a Hollywood pal of mine confided that he hoped it would continue as planned since, as he said, it would knock my socks off.

At that point, all we'd seen were some teaser posters and texts from Ledger’s character, The Joker.

Well, the second phase of The Dark Knight’s campaign has rolled out and I have to hand it to the folks at 42 Entertainment (to whom Warners subcontracted the marketing), this is undeniably the most comprehensive viral marketing campaign I have ever seen. It was precisely crafted for the fanboy/comic book geek crowd and they are eating it up. The media coverage has been staggering and I imagine it will continue to the film’s release this summer.

Here’s a run-down the rabbit-hole that is The Dark Knight's promotional strategy:

Faux Politics
The new issue of The Gotham Times has been posted and the Harvey Dent campaign website has announced that Harvey is running for DA. The campaign site lacks any references to Batman. In fact, as someone not familiar with the depths of Batman lore, when I first saw the graffiti-laden posters in a theater window display a few months ago, I thought Dent was a movie in its own right and went online seeking it out. The faux political site urges "concerned Gotham citizens" to "take back Gotham City" by backing Dent and organizing faux grass-roots rallies, filming videos and coming out to meet the Dentmobile touring target cities.

Rowdy Real-World Rallies
Further blending the lines between fact and fiction, on March 12, a rally for the fictional DA candidate was broken up by very real and very confused police. Fans had come out to meet the Dentmobile and when police arrived to remove the crowds, the cops seemed genuinely bewildered by volunteers handing out Harvey Dent bumper stickers, buttons and T-shirts.

Opponent Sites
Of course, what would a political campaign be without opponents? Roger Garcetti, acting DA of Gotham City, and Dana Worthington, founder of the Gotham Victims Advocate Foundation have joined in the fray. More info for her can be found at DanaWorthington.com.

Faux News Coverage
Other Gotham-related sites include a Drudge Report mimic called Maiden Avenue Report.

New sites for more Gotham City services including GothamCableNews.com, SaintsWithunsChurch.org and GothamCab.com have also launched. And, of course, there is the CitizensForBatman.org site.

Texts and Voicemails
Harvey Dent and The Joker are using text messages and voicemails to communicate with their supporters.

ARGs
Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) including scavenger-hunts and role-playing are also in the mix: a page appeared at whysoserious.com/steprightup with a hammer game and some teddy bear toys. Each toy had an address on it located in a number of cities around the US. The note on the game told people to go to that address and say their name was "Robin Banks” (robin' banks, that’s pretty funny!) and to await further instructions. What they were given was a cake with a phone number written on it. Now here's the best part: inside the cake was an evidence bag (complete with Gotham City Police printing) that contained a cell phone, a charger, a Joker playing card and a note with instructions.

Red Herrings
Various red herring sites have launched to throw people off the trail in the ARGs. I don't know if these are created by the 42 Entertainment or by fans who are playing the game; it's just part of the beauty of the whole thing!

Plot-Point Sites
Another website, www.ibelieveinharveydenttoo.com provides teasers about some connection between the Joker and Two Face that I assume will be explained in the film. (Maybe it’s already known. Again, I’m rusty on my comic book lore.)

ComicCon Tie-Ins
Well aware of their core audience, the marketers put it all out there at San Diego’s Comicon with specially defaced dollar bills with yet another web site’s url. On the site The Joker offered fans the chance to become his henchmen with special prizes for those willing to carry out his demands. These players gathered at a set location (offline) to obtain a phone number that was written in the sky by a plane! From there, they embarked on an elaborate scavenger hunt around the city.

Faux Kidnappings
The Comicon promo ended with a fan being abducted by "thugs" in a Cadillac Escalade and getting symbolically "murdered" by armed men who mistook the player for the Joker.

Whew! So, fellow PR pro/marketer -- what did YOU do today?

Some colleagues have said this is overkill and that by the time the movie hits this summer, people will be sick of it after all this hype. (The campaign began nearly a year ago.) But, the power here is that you have to seek these sites out. You have to be the kind of person who wants to run around town in a text-based scavenger hunt and look up in the sky for clues. For the comic book audience, I cannot imagine a better fantasy come true than to play with the superheroes and villains they love so much. Well done 42 Entertainment! You've set the bar into the stratosphere and made The Blair Witch campaign look like a pageboy hollering, "extra! extra!" on the street corner.

-- my two cents

The Press Release Is Not Dead, It Has Evolved

I saw today that someone on Linked In asked if press releases are dead. As usual, it sparked quite a debate just as it has among PR pros for years. (Google "news release is dead" to see one such debate, which includes the notion that Facebook Walls have replaced the release.) With that in mind, I figured I’d toss out my usual two cents on the subject.

Allow me to state unequivocally: the press release is not dead, quite the opposite, in fact. A solid release can be one of the most useful tools you have if you think strategically and write efficiently.

The value of a good release:

They can deliver significant SEO in driving traffic to your site.

They have a long shelf life within search engines and aggregate sites.

They are still widely used by vertical trades.

They are sometimes reprinted in their entirety, ensuring your message gets out (particularly online).

If your news is of national or international significance, you will get the word out fast.

Consider that a web search can return sites featuring customer complaints. The more you can stock engines with positive news via releases, the better first impression you can make.

A steady stream of releases ensures spider-friendly content that will enhance your page rank.

Online releases can include rich media (videos, podcasts, etc.) which will only further optimize your place among engines and get your message out.

It’s not just for media anymore. Through search engines, consumers now have access to press releases, especially if your headline is “findable.”

Price is no longer a factor. The days of BW and PRN owning all release distribution are gone. Free distribution sites like PRWeb, PR.com and 24/7 are just as effective.

It's in the way that you use it.

We've all heard the adage that people don't read stories, they read headlines. Well, the same is true for a search engine. A good release has a "findable" headline, using only the words that give you a postive ranking. Tools like Google AdWords Key Word and WordTracker are very useful in ensuring you are optimizing every phrase.

Keeping it brief is more critical than ever as some search engines will not accept a release containing more than 500 words (and reporters will appreciate it too!)

The same is true for links. Too many links in a release could be considered spam and will subsequently be denied by search engines. A good rule of thumb is one link for every one hundred words.

Of course, it’s important to remember that a press release is merely a tool and it will never replace one-on-one pitching. Media want a scoop; they don’t want the same news that everyone else is getting. Oftentimes careful, targeted media pitching can be more effective than a mass distributed release. It all depends on the news, the target audience, timing and your end goal.

But for now, I say long live the optimized release!

-- my two cents

Time Magazine Invents Facts, says Glenn Greenwald

Glenn Greenwald of Salon.com posted this article today alleging that Time Magazine invented facts to claim that Americans support Bush's domestic spying abuses despite several studies, polls and surveys demonstrating the opposite to be true.

Certainly allegations of fake news are nothing new lately. But given the continued debate about blogger credibility versus journalistic integrity, now is not the time for sloppy (or fraudlent) reporting from mainsteam media. (Then again, when is the time for that?)

-- my two cents

Mark Cuban Bans a Blogger from Maverick's Locker Room

As we continue debating media access for bloggers, an ironic twist has come into play. Mark Cuban, a blogger himself, banned a blogger from the Maverick's locker room for having too much media credibility! Now there is a first!

Tim MacMahon, who writes a blog for the Dallas Morning News was denied entry to the Maverick's locker room over the weekend because of a new policy refusing access to writers whose "primary purpose is to blog."

On his blog today, Cuban says he's not coming down on the citizen journalist. He's calling out traditional media who send in bloggers, instead of feature writers, to get a jump on media companies that don't blog.

"What I didn't like was that the Dallas Morning News was getting a competitive advantage simply because they were the Dallas Morning News. Some out there will take this as my not 'liking' blogs. Ridiculous. its the exact opposite. What I don't like is unequal access. I'm all for bloggers getting the same access as mainstream media when possible. What I'm not a fan of is major media companies throwing their weight around thinking they should be treated differently."

The Dallas Morning News, however, claims this new ban is aimed at MacMahon, whom the paper says was asked to leave the locker room on February 29th after posting a piece that was critical of coach Avery Johnson. MacMahon has been blogging about the Mavericks for the Morning News since 2006.

Banned For Too Much Journalistic Credibility
Usually organizations ban bloggers for not having enough traditional media cred. But denying a major-media-backed blogger just because the Dallas Morning News could publish a story first? Well, that would be like telling TV networks they can't cover an event because they'd scoop print reporters. Or denying CNN an interview because 24/7 broadcasting gives them an unfair advantage over the networks!

Technology changes the game. Always has. Always will. Those who play smart, win. Certainly Mark Cuban, the man who created Broadcast.com, understands this. And, considering that bloggers have been beating traditional media to the punch for years now. Perhaps turnabout should be fair play here.

-- my two cents

Americans Turn to Web For News

According to Reuters - Nearly 70 percent of Americans believe traditional journalism is out of touch, and nearly half are turning to the Internet to get their news.

While most people think journalism is important to the quality of life, 64 percent are dissatisfied with the quality of journalism in their communities, a We Media/Zogby Interactive online poll showed.

"That's a really encouraging reflection of people who care A) about journalism and B) understand that it makes a difference to their lives," said Andrew Nachison, of iFOCOS, a Virginia-based think tank which organized a forum in Miami where the findings were presented.

The stats break down like this:

Nearly half of the 1,979 people who responded to the survey said their primary source of news and information is the Internet, up from 40 percent just a year ago.

Less than one third use television to get their news, while 11 percent turn to radio and 10 percent to newspapers.

More than half of those who grew up with the Internet, those 18 to 29, get most of their news and information online, compared to 35 percent of people 65 and older.

Older adults are the only group that favors a primary news source other than the Internet, with 38 percent selecting television.

Howard Finberg, of the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida, said the public often doesn't understand that the sources they are accessing online such as Google News and Yahoo News pull stories from newspapers, television, wire services and other media sources.

"It's delivered in a non-traditional form, that doesn't necessarily mean there isn't traditional journalism underneath it," he explained.

But Finberg said the study does support the belief among many large media companies that focusing on local issues is important to their journalistic and economic survival.

Polk Awards: A Blogger and a Slain Editor Among Those Honored

The 2007 George Polk awards, informally known as the “Golden Globes of Journalism,” have been announced. Interestingly, a blogger (!) Joshua Micah Marshall of Talking Points Memo, was among those honored for his reporting on the US Attorney scandal that brought down Alberto Gonzales. Given my last post, this is an exceptional move toward accepting bloggers as real media.

Also noteworthy is the bittersweet recognition for slain editor Chauncey Bailey who was ambushed and shot while investigating the Black Muslim splinter group, Your Black Muslim Bakery. Seven men were arrested after Bailey's shooting on charges including fraud and kidnapping after a raid on the bakery. A bakery handyman has been charged in the slaying and is awaiting trial. A true hero, Bailey led a 37-year career in investigative journalism. Click here for more information on Bailey the story that cost him his life.

And, here for a complete list of Polk winners. Congratulations to all!

-- my two cents

Traditional Vs New Media: Is It Really Either/Or?

When I was a kid, I saw All the President's Men and Absence of Malice in the same week (thanks to HBO) and decided then and there I wanted to be a reporter. (Of course, a few weeks later, I saw Raiders of the Lost Ark and wanted to be a swash-buckling archeologist. But, that's a different story altogether!)

Watching those movies, I was fascinated by the important role media plays in our daily lives -- the way they could right a wrong -- the responsibility they have in finding the truth and getting it out there. Today, of course, I'm not a reporter, I crossed to the "dark side" and my job is to persuade reporters to tell the truth I want them to tell. Still part of my success, I think, stems from that early and continued respect for the media.

Ad Age and the Bureau of Labor Statitics just reported a steady decline in traditional media jobs since 2000. Given the increase in the 24-hour news cycle since 2000, one might assume the opposite to be true. However, as I continued to read the stats, I wondered how much new media contributed to this drop in the traditional journalist job market.

So, let's do a timeline study, shall we? One of the first blogs came from Jorn Barger in 1997 -- he's the man who coined the phrase weblog. He was soon followed by Peter Merholz who shortened it to blog. The next year, Open Diary launched and the first network of blogs entered the scene. By '99, Brad Fitzpatrick launched Live Journal which had a more user-friendly interface and suddenly blogs were popping up all around us. Pyra Labs launched Blogger.com that same year and the formerly-email subscription Drudge Report went global in an aggregate blog form.

A year later, in 2000, traditional media jobs began falling by the wayside. Now, this is a little like saying, I see the sun when I wake up in the morning, so I must be the cause of its rising. Still, I can't help but to connect the dots a little bit.

Of course, it's not just blogs. Webzines also began to rise around the same time. Suddenly, you didn't need a publishing house and a major investment to start your own magazine. All you needed was an internet connection and compelling content. I recall writing movie reviews for e-zines as early as 1998 and at that time, I began seeking out other reviews of films, music and books from non-traditional channels.

Here's a question: when is the last time you watched your local news, or even the national nightly news? In the 70s and 80s, my folks watched the local news and then NBC Nightly News every single night. I remember the local news interrupting Happy Days and Mork and Mindy to report on the Atlanta Child Murders, basically scaring the bejesus out of me every day! Now, I can't tell you the last time I sat down to watch an entire news program on TV. I get nearly all of my news online and I'm not the only one. As I've mentioned here before, in 2002, the EVP, Marketing for CNN, Scot Safon gave a speech in which he said college students didn't even think about CNN as a broadcast channel, they only viewed it as a web site.

Next, consider newspapers. I remember in 1998 when online versions of newspapers were nearly all subscription-based even I said "I still like the tactile feeling of holding the paper, I'll never read all my news online!" Of course, this was back in the day when you watched the screen for 5 minues as each page downloaded. Today Newspapers are laying off staff left and right because of the efficiency of the web. And, I gotta admit, reading a printed newspaper today is like reading last week's news.

So, back to the original Ad Age report...where are all these traditional media jobs going? According to the statistics, to marketing and PR. Yep, all those laid-off reporters can now get jobs pitching reporters and/or blogging for Corporate America. According to Ad Age, "marketing consultancies over the past year added 14,500 jobs (up 10.8%) nearly matching staff cuts at major newspapers (down 16,900)."

In other words, while the number of target media we pitch declines, the competition for our jobs grows.

Now, I'm a huge advocate of blogs and ezines and the strength of independent voices. But, the part of me that cheered for Woodward & Bernstein in All the President's and whose heart sank for Sally Field and Paul Newman in Absence of Malice wonders are we de-valuing the traditional journalist a bit too much here?

I think Neil Henry of the SF Chronicle said it best last May when he wrote: "[this means] Fewer resources will be available to investigate stories as nationally significant as the BALCO scandal; fewer professionals to doggedly uncover shady financial practices at the University of California, forcing top officials to publicly acknowledge their mistakes and work to fix them; fewer journalists to cover local city halls, courts and schools, reporting community news that the public often takes for granted -- and which other media, including local television and radio outlets, rely upon to set their own news priorities."

Fact is, I love new media. (Those of you who attended a recent dinner party at my house and witnessed the great blog debate of 08 know it!) I love the citizen-journalist. I love the immediate ROI found with digital PR. I love the idea of reporters who aren't tied to a corporation that controls the content.

But, I also love that hard-nosed journalist who digs and digs and uncovers the stories that no one believed in. I also love the tradition of integrity that we all identify with days gone by. It's an interesting time out there folks; let's keep the conversation going and the trust in our traditional watchdogs high.

-- my two cents

Viral Marketing, Bloggers and Instant Celebrity

Today, I learned about John Fitzgerald Page. While I am loathe to contribute to his newfound Internet celebrity, the whole story is a fascinating study of viral marketing, the power of bloggers, and why people/marketers must embrace these new voices online. Therefore, please forgive me for adding another notch to this non-celebrity's publicity belt.

If you don’t know the story, here’s the skinny.

1. John Fitzgerald Page was/is on Match.com.

2. A woman “winked” at him.

3. He sent her a form-letter in which he boasted his accomplishments: high rise condo, Ivy League school, big money career, etc. He then asked her how much she weighs and if she works out regularly. (To his credit, he did acknowledge the rudeness of the inquiry.)

4. The woman clicked “no thanks” so Match.com sent him a polite note saying “thanks but we’re not a good match based on personality.”

5. Instead of leaving it at that. John sent her a nasty email stating that since she rejected him, she must be fat. He goes on at length to insult her and describe himself and his "caliber" including how much he can bench press.

6. She sent his email to a few friends. They sent it on to other friends and so on and so on…

7. Soon, the blog Gawker.com (which covers "media, gossip and pop culture") got a hold of it and ran the story.

8. It spread like wildfire with bloggers because well, let’s face it – his arrogance is funny and everyone loves a good villain.

9. Now, I always say, major media follow-the-lead of bloggers. True to form, soon the AJC, CNN, FoxNews, CBS and the NYT interviewed him.

Today, John is reveling in Internet stardom. He is releasing his own online videos, putting together book deals and a 20-city tour, all the while securing as much publicity as he can, while he can. He has even become an official escort selling dates for $250-$500 a pop proving in this age of hyper-voyeurism, anybody can be famous, if they want to be.

Certainly none of this is newsworthy. And, I do feel a bit smarmy talking about it here. But the whole story is another example of the speed of viral content online and why people/companies should embrace bloggers. As Target learned, bloggers have the luxury of writing what they want and with each blog linked to another blog, content moves like lightning.

So, bottom line: Bloggers can be a marketer/publicist's (and even a guy trying to find love) greatest advocate or greatest annoyance -- which one is entirely up to you and how much publicity you really want.

-- my two cents

Marketers More Accepting of New Media

Guideline recently asked B2B and B2C marketers to rate the effectiveness of various online marketing tactics.

Almost all marketers surveyed used some form of social media. However, business marketers reported more success with podcasts:

21% of B2B vs. 13% of B2C listed podcasts as "effective"
17% of B2B vs. 6% of B2C favored blogs, and
14% of B2B vs. 11% of B2C preferred RSS feeds

As you know, I’m a big fan of using Second Life for promotion and it seems B2B marketers are starting to catch on with 8% of business marketers rating Second Life as an effective new media platform, while consumer marketers had either not tried it or the sample size was too small to include. As I’ve mentioned previously, I think B2C marketers are missing a major opportunity by ignoring Second Life. This virtual world has so permeated our society, while reading Dean Koontz’s latest book the other day, I was amazed to discover the double-life Koontz's villain described leading was actually in Second Life. With members in the millions spending real dollars in this fake world, brand owners should really take a second look at “lifers.”

No surprise, the most common online marketing too in the B2B world is the blog—although I’m surprised to see the adoption rate of corporate blogging is still so small. Fact is, if you want to position yourself as a subject matter expert, a properly linked, digged and lensed blog will take you farther than just about any other method today.

About one-quarter of B2B marketers surveyed had tried a viral or participatory ad campaign, while 29% sponsored an online community or discussion site. Also in the study, B2B and B2C marketers revealed they were unsure how emerging vehicles such as blogs, games, social networks, virtual worlds, widgets and wikis would actually influence potential customers.

Clearly, we need to publish more ROI on the subject because – as many of you have heard me say – the immediate metrics captured in online marketing makes it the most effective promotional tool today. Never before has so much real-time information been available to us. The opportunities to play are there. According to Forrester, 53% of marketers surveyed anticipate increasing their overall marketing budget this year, and, of those, the average increase in spending expected is 28%.

However, there is a still a fear of new media here. Although the survey found more marketers used e-mail, search and webinars in 2007, B2B has a long way to go in terms of the transformation to digital media. Blogs, online video, podcasts and other emerging media were used by only about a third of survey participants.

Report author Laura Ramos, a VP at Forrester says, “There's still a perception that it's expensive and difficult to do online video, or create rich interactive applications that demonstrate your product and tell your story. Rich media is well suited for B2B because of the high-consideration product sales and the long sales cycle. It is a medium that is interactive, that is visual and auditory, and more engaging to the visitor and [which] may tap into their emotions and their motivations better than other media."

The onus is on marketers and PR practitioners to demonstrate the value of online marketing to our clients and corporate leaders. So, let’s get our metrics out there and move that needle for corporate adoption!

-- my two cents

New Media Equals New Voters

When I arrived at the polls yesterday morning, I was shocked by the massive crowd that had already assembled. As I took my place in line I was immediately swept up by the party atmosphere; the music, the shouting, the excitement…and the kids. For a split second I thought I was in a line for American Idol auditions or Hanna Montana tickets. Surely, these college students did not drag themselves out of bed at 7:45 in the morning to vote!

But, in fact, what I witnessed was seen across the country in nearly all 22 primaries held yesterday.

So why the surge in younger voters? Some could argue the issues drove kids to the polls yesterday. An unpopular war, for example, is a great motivator. But, then again, we were at war during the last election too and we didn’t see anywhere near these numbers. Since I was in for a long wait, I started chatting with the kids and was astonished to hear them talk about the candidates’ positions on major issues – in some cases they were better informed than I was.

Naturally, I wanted to know their sources. Of course, many of them referenced traditional outlets like CNN, NPR, and MTV’s Rock the Vote. But, then they started talking about new media. The more sites they named, the more I wondered how much of an impact social networking, viral marketing and blogs had to do with this re-energizing of the youth vote.

Technorati reports there are currently 542,343 blogs covering U.S. politics with more than 15,000 subscribers each. Likewise, a Google Blog Search for "U.S. politics" yields a list of 858,482 blogs and that number excludes those not linked to Google’s search engine.

But is it just blogging that brought kids to the polls?

Declare Yourself, a non-partisan youth voting initiative encompassing everything from viral videos, podcasts, text alerts and surveys to traditional on-campus visits, registered more than 250,000 voters for the 2008 campaign. The site also features links to social networks such as Facebook and MySpace.

And, speaking of social networking, Facebook introduced an application (co-sponsored with ABC News) where users have access to up-to-date political news, polls and video -- a full-media RSS feed, if you will. More than one million Facebook users added the application to their profile, and more than 300,000 have participated in at least one online debate group, according to a news release from Facebook.

Kids are also taking it upon themselves to make their voices heard with user-initiated Facebook groups started for each candidate, the largest being "One Million Strong For Obama," with more than 445,000 members. Not to be outdone, MySpace launched MySpace Impact, a Web site featuring links to candidates' profiles, as well as polling and registration information. It also includes featured blog posts from its users and boasts more than 334,761 members.

MTV – always a staple in youth voter registration – launched think.mtv.com which enlisted 23 amateur journalists to cover primary results with podcasts and blogs sent from their mobile phones. I love the genuine viewer-to-brand interaction this initiative creates and clearly, I'm not alone with nearly a million new voters registered through the site.

The Republican party is not without their own online intiatives. Mike Huckabee has tapped into youth culture with the popular Christian Web site, The Rebelution from which Huckabee enlisted The Harris Brothers who started Huck's Army, to organize grassroots efforts for Huckabee's campaign resulting in 100,000 members.

The result: Under-30 voter turnout yesterday was up 42 percent over the primaries of 2004, according to the AP. And, granted, it’s not scientific, but my little straw poll of the kids waiting in line with me yesterday all said they made their decisions based on what they found online.

So, once again, if you want to connect with the youth market – whether you’re selling soda, games, movies, toys, or freedom - you cannot afford to ignore new media.

-- my two cents

Target Tells Bloggers to Buzz Off

Today the New York Times reported a PR pro from Target told a Blogger the company does not respond to non-traditional media outlets. The story goes something like this:

1. Last week someone from Shaping Youth, a Blog that covers the impact of marketing on children, emailed Target’s PR team about a current ad.

2. The PR pro brushed off the Blogger saying they only talk to “traditional publications that reach our core guests.” The Blogger ran the story/editorial about the ad, along with Target's non-comment comment.

3. A Blogstorm quickly followed and continued throughout the weekend. Bloggers spread the word: Target doesn’t like Bloggers; Bloggers aren’t Target’s customer-base; Target is living in 1997.

4. Today, Monday morning, Target was forced to address both issues: the original concern about the ad and what they said about Bloggers when the New York Times picked up the story, which has been syndicated through the Associated Press.

The official Target spokeswoman, Amy von Walter, told the Times, “We do not work with Bloggers currently. Target’s policy is to focus limited resources on the big media outlets, like television stations and newspapers, which reach large numbers of shoppers. With a small public relations team, we want to make sure we are making an educated decision and we live up to any promises we make, in terms of service.”

Anyone who believes that Bloggers do not reach a large number of shoppers need only recall Dell Hell, a blog that became so popular it cost Dell its place as market leader. To this day, the company is still trying to rebuild its customer service image.

There is simply no more immediate way to spread information than the Blogger. Every one Blog is linked to other Blogs, which are linked to other Blogs, and like the old shampoo commercial goes…and so on ... and so on.

In fact, companies that embrace Bloggers (and PR pros who pitch them) often see a loyalty not found in a lot of traditional media. Bloggers have the luxury of writing what they want and they can be your most vocal advocate if you invite them in.

On the flip side, disrespecting Bloggers is the quickest way to invite their wrath, which Target has most assuredly done because, once again, Bloggers have the luxury of writing what they want.

The fact is: media are everywhere and they take all forms. The first thing I say on my web site is:

The Internet has democratized our media landscape. Through blogs, webzines, social networking and more, your customer now has a voice as loud as any traditional channel—perhaps even louder. In today’s world, your customer is the media. That’s why it’s never been more important to “speak media” fluently in terms of strategy, message and delivery.

And, as I’ve said before on this blog—a great number of Bloggers work for traditional media outlets, in addition to writing their own blog. This is part of the one-two punch in pitching a Blogger; you can get your story in front of two media channels at once. Similarly, in this day of 24/7 news, a lot of media search Blogs for leads, as we’ve seen with today’s New York Times.

So, let the lesson be loud and clear: Bloggers are media too! In fact, they are fast-becoming the most important media Target out there (pun intended).

-- my two cents

News for a New Generation: Are They Trying Too Hard or Hitting the Mark?

So, ABC recently announced they are dedicating staff to create original-content webcasts in an attempt to reach out to younger audiences. They are simply calling these webcasts: World News.

I think this could be a very smart (albeit very late) move for ABC. About 5 1/2 years ago I attended an event where Scot Saffon, EVP of Marketing for CNN was speaking. Scot said then that college students did not even think about CNN as broadcast television; they associated the brand solely with the Internet. Because of this, Scot announced that CNN would cease charging $ to watch vids online and would start creating original programing for the web; one of the best decisions CNN had made in years. So, frankly, it's about time the network news caught on.

But, these ABC webcasts aren't guaranteed success, here's where it could all go horribly wrong:

According to the article, ABC's plans for these web segments are that "they purposely look raw and personal, as if they were made for MTV rather than ABC."

This could be a good move -- if it is truly produced by the audience they are trying to reach.

Unfortunately, the article also states: "[the] network is using the staff of its evening newscast to produce a separate and distinct daily program for a Web audience."

Nothing fails faster than phony -- especially in the digital arena. And, if 50 year old newsmen are producing segments with an MTV feel, it could epitomize phony. Even using the same anchors could spell deadly for ABC ... I mean really, when you think hip, young, fresh and digital, do you really think Charles Gibson? And, I say this with all due respect -- Gibson is, afterall, the most youth-friendly anchor out there (next to AC) simply because he doesn't try to be something he isn't. Let's hope he carries that into the webcasts...

In another network bid for the youth market --- NBC's Brian Williams is hosting SNL on Nov. 3rd.

I have such mixed feelings about this. While I recognize that anyone wanting to reach a younger audience should absolutely appear on SNL -- the part of me that adores journalistic integrity shudders. I mean, could you actually imagine Tom Brokaw hosting SNL?

John Friedman said it best in his Media Web blog: "Skeptics may wonder what's next. Will CBS' Katie Couric try to goose her flagging ratings by cracking a case on an episode of "C.S.I."? Perhaps ABC's Charles Gibson will defend his No. 1 rating by making a cameo on "Desperate Housewives." Couldn't you picture him popping up in a scene playing an ever-reliable corner druggist named Fred?"

BUT, Brian Williams is young, handsome (no AndersonCooper, but not bad) and if he is funny ... really funny and personable, it could pay off. Williams has already appeared a few times on The Daily Show as a guest (and countless times as The Giant Head of Brian Williams.) I thought he was terribly stiff in his appearances, but nonetheless, smart and clearly willing to laugh at himself. So, I think he has a great shot in making this appearance work.

And who knows...given today's merging of entertainment fluff and hard news, pop culture and world events, government affairs and, well ... government affairs -- maybe even Kronkite would have embraced SNL if he thought it might get America's youth more interested in current events beyond Brittney's latest pantyless prancing.

So, tune in and let me know what you think!

-- my two cents...
/Jennifer

Demystifying Blogging for Promotion

I'm often asked about how & when to blog as well as how and when to pitch bloggers. So, here's my thinking on the subject:

Pitching Bloggers:

1. Bloggers Are Media. You want to pitch bloggers much in the same way you pitch media. Even if a blog isn't affiliated in any way with a traditional media channel, bloggers are "the new media." They interview subjects, conduct research and report stories just like any other journalist. So, the first step is to re-think how you define bloggers.

2. Creating a One-Two Punch. We've all seen the media sponsored blogs (Wired blogs, Forbes blogs). But, also keep in mind even if the blog isn't officially sponsored by a publication, it could be written by a journalist. Or, if it is sponsored by a media outlet, the journalist behind it could be affiliated with another publication. A good example is the Fast Forward blog on CNN Money. It is written by a senior editor at Forbes. Pitching him means you are putting your story in front of two media channels in one.

3. Who Follows Whom? I'm often asked, "should I focus on the traditional media and hope bloggers will pick up the story?" In fact, the opposite is usually true. Independent bloggers don't have to contend with the traditional hierarchy of reporter-to-editor-to-senior-editor for story approval so they can move much faster. The result is that a lot of traditional media take their cues from top bloggers. I'm not dissing traditional media here -- all I'm saying is news moves at the speed of information and a good reporter will rely on every source they can to get the jump on a good story. And, of course, with blogs you have the advantage of one blog being linked to five others, which are each linked to five others...to help perpetuate a story virally. This is the great power of blogs and is precisely why a hit in the right blog can be more powerful than a story in a traditional media channel.

When to Blog:

1. When You Really Have Something To Say. The fact is there are millions of blogs out there and most of them are lucky if they have one or two readers. If you're going to take the time to blog, make sure you have something to say. The best blogs are either provocative, funny, or educational. If you can't fit into these three categories, blogging may not help promote your company or product. After all, if a blog is posted online and no one is there to read it ... then no one is there to read it.

If you have any specific questions about blogging or any other forms of promotion, marketing or public relations, please contact me at http://www.andersonjonespr.com/.

/Jennifer Jones