« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »

January 30, 2007

Fanpop: A Social Portal...

...That Wants to Change the Way Fans Congregate

By Charlie Kondek

Fanpop is a new online community portal that combines peer-generated content with social networking capabilities. It puts, all in one place, a user's identity, interests and networking strands. When you visit a "spot" it not only shows you links and resources added by users to the spot, which you can rate, but related spots. (Example: the Bruce Lee spot also shows me the kung fu and Jean Claude Van Damme spots.)

I recently got a chance for some back and forth with Fanpop CEO Dave Lu on the site, the Fanpop entrepreneurial philosophy, and trends that will potentially shape the way people network online. Hope you find it insightful.

Kondek: Okay, so FanPop is a social portal. Tell us what a social portal is. How does it differ from other communities or user-driven content aggregators?

Lu: Fanpop is actually a network of thousands of niche social portals around all kinds of topics of interest. We call them social portals because communities of fans actually own each individual portal and interact with other fans to share and create content they find all around the web for their shared passions. We've tried to bring together a feature set for each portal that facilitates community-building like social bookmarking, aggregated news feeds, community publishing/blog forums and an underlying social network. It brings together the idea of communities like Yahoo! Groups and user-drive content aggregators like Digg and del.icio.us by integrating the experience under common interests like television shows, sports teams, hobbies, bands and more.

We believe that everyone is a fan of something and that by bringing these features together, we empower communities to grow around those shared passions. A lot of social networks are too broad and only allow individuals to connect to other individuals. Many content aggregators also cast a wide net and might not appeal to everyone. We wanted to marry those concepts together by allowing individuals to connect to other individuals around topics that actually care about.

Kondek: How's it going then? You're still in beta. When do you predict you'll have the kinks worked out? And what can you share with us about current user activity and projected user activity?

Lu: It's actually been going really well! We've been growing a lot since our launch in August and have almost 2,000 topics created by fans. Apparently there are all sorts of things that people are fans of in the long tail from rats and pigeons to pens and moleskin. I had no idea the variety of things people could be passionate about. Users continue to add new content every day and we're very happy with the current user activity. We're still in beta as we continue to build out more and more features and as we listen to our users' feedback and suggestions. Because we're a small team, we can move very quickly and we really do value what our users think. We're really excited about the next few months because I think our users are going to be pleasantly surprised with what we have in store. I predict that we'll be out of beta once we roll those features out and everything is stable.

Kondek: Okay, so I'm a new user on Fanpop (I really am, my name is Andromeda77 - 100 points if you can guess the reference). I've already added the Bruce Lee and Kung Fu "spots" to "my spots." What do I do next to maximize my Fanpop experience?

Lu: The great part about Fanpop is that unlike most social network profiles where you declare you have interests, Fanpop actually allows you to consume content about those interests. So once you've joined the Bruce Lee and Kung Fu spots, you can go and participate with other fans of Bruce Lee and Kung Fu. You can contribute articles, videos, websites and more and start discussions or even write original articles. Based on your quality of contributions, you receive a reputation in each spot and earn medals accordingly. These medals correspond to respect from peers and administrative rights for that particulat spot. You also get feeds to your profile page telling you if new links have been added or discussions have started in spots you've joined. In other words, Fanpop allows you to efficiently filter out only the content that you actually want to see rather than having to fish around for it. You essentially create a customized social content experience based on your personal interests.

Kondek: Do you foresee a Fanpop profile become part of an Internet user's "business card," so to speak? Say, a link you your ID on Digg, your Myspace and your Fanpop user-ID as your sig in e-mails and the like?

Lu: We'd love it if your Fanpop profile became part of users online identities! We think that it's a lot more interesting than what articles a person "dugg" or a boring profile page with a bunch of comments on it, because a Fanpop profile is a gateway to content that the individual is excited about. It gives a better picture of a person when I can find out more about the bands they listen to or the television shows they like rather than just read their names.

Kondek: Any partnership opportunities in the works?

Lu: We're talking to a lot of potential partners right now ranging from large media companies to small startups with really cool technologies. Our goal is to give the users the best experience possible which means great content and great features that help build great community. We hope to have some pretty cool stuff up along those lines very soon.

Kondek: I have to ask this: how best do you think marketers like myself can interact with Fanpop? Obviously, if you produce something like a TV show or a clothing line, you can join and create a "spot" to promote your material. What's the best way to do this? Where is the line drawn between joining the community and being a disruption?

Lu: That's a great question, Charlie. Anyone who is a fan of anything can create a spot around their topic of interest. We wanted to allow users the freedom to express themselves. That being said, we have a separate area for brand new spots that we call "pending spots" because we want to avoid duplication and spam. In order for a spot to be promoted to official there has to be enough demand and interest in that topic (number of fans, amount of content). Our community of fans also police the site for spam by reporting users, links, or spots that might be inappropriate.

Kondek: So, bascially, if I am a filmmaker or TV studio, I should join and participate in the various spots, and even offer Fanpop-specific content.

Lu: Exactly. That's the beauty of Fanpop compared to other social networks and content sites. We build communities around brands and interests. This means that targeting for filmmakers and TV studios can be focused on specific types of fans. For example fans of FX new show Dirt are very likely to be similar to fans of “Nip/Tuck,” or Bravo can target fans of cooking for their show “Top Chef.” Because we are designed around affinity networks, it makes it easier to figure out who is a fan of what and cater to those users tastes. Exclusives and other content would be great for anyone trying to generate some buzz.

Whew! I hope that was helpful ,Charlie! Look forward to seeing andromeda77 active on Fanpop! Oh and I think Andromeda77 a reference to the Andromeda show in the 90s starring Kevin Sorbo? Do I get my 100 points? :)

I'm afraid not, Dave. According to a friend of mine from Japan, Andromeda 77 is the planet where Ultraman comes from. (Something not mentioned in the version that was in re-runs on the U.S.)

So there you have it. Stop by and take the social portal for a spin. You can even meet me at the spot I created for PR.

Posted by staff at 05:18 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 29, 2007

What've you been reading on Shelfari?

Recently, BlogWorks joined the “bookish” social-networking craze with an account on Shelfari, an online library that joined the ranks of sites like Bibliophil and Library Thing recently.

What drove me to Shelfari, over other sites, was the design. The virtual bookshelves were very appealing and made finding titles and reviews easy. I couldn't agree more with Tech Crunch’s Michael Arrington:

“Shelfari isn’t as big as Library Thing (key Library Thing stats here), but it is a better designed site and they have a great looking widget to show off the books you own.”

I like the option to start online discussion for the books, creating a greater sense of community for cyber bookworms.

I’ve asked some of my colleagues to add some of their favorite books, both PR-related and non-work reads. I’m curious to see if any of our readers/friendly bloggers are on Shelfari and, more importantly, if they’ll have any good books to recommend.

So, having said that, add us on Shelfari. Let us know what you've been reading.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:02 PM
Comments (1) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 26, 2007

Newspapers continue to aim for transparency

We’ve all seen the effects of what happens when you’re not transparent in the blogosphere. Newspapers have always struggled with how much information they release when it comes to sources, stories, etc.; while the challenge has stayed the same, it’s moved into a new area: the Internet.

While PR practioners strive to maintain transparency for their clients and respective projects, newspapers must make themselves, newsrooms included, open to the public in an age where the public wants as much information as possible.

Today, Editor and Publisher’s Joe Strupp discusses the challenges newspapers are facing today with what content they release on the web to make themselves more transparent and, in some cases, maintain readership that continues to slip as more and more readers put down their paper product and move toward the Internet. He cites the Spokane, Wash., Spokesman Review as a newspaper that “gets it” when it comes to Internet transparency.

“The Spokesman-Review may be one of the best examples of the newspaper industry's newfound embrace of transparency. Among the first to post raw reporting materials on its Web site and open up news meetings via a daily webcast, the Spokane daily sees its future bound to Web-related openness.”

The Spokeman’s web site features their “Transparent Newsroom,” allowing readers the following options:

• News in Conversation


• Daily Briefing


• Ask the Editors


• Live webcasts


• Future of the Newsroom


• Finding the Frame


• RPS Coverage Review (local feature)

I watched one of the editorial meetings via archived webcast. While the video player was a little small on the screen, it was refreshing to have a firsthand look at what decisions the newspaper was making in real-time. As a former reporter, there were numerous times I wasn’t allowed in many editorial meetings at my own newspaper, so I appreciate the transparency the Spokesman is trying to achieve.

Even the Detroit Free Press has moved to a more blog-like feel for their web site after a recent redesign, which was met with both praise and criticism.

Newspapers have a long way to go in terms of finding a “happy medium” between their print and online products. By becoming transparent, newspapers can set themselves up to remain favorable in public opinion as more and more people demand more and more information online.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:11 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 25, 2007

For the good of the project

By Melanie Seasons

Last summer, Charlie and I worked on a campaign for The Canary Project, an artistic endeavor by Susannah Saylor and Edward Morris that attempts to document global warming through photography. To date it is one of the most successful projects we’ve ever had. We even won a “Wommie,” WOMMA’s award for “amazing word of mouth campaigns and the fabulous people who create them.”

In the first week of our outreach efforts, traffic at canary-project.org went from around 20 unique visitors a day to 5,000 — an increase of 24,900 percent.

The day-to-day work was pretty much identical from the other projects we’ve worked on.
We used the same methods of researching, pitching and monitoring. The big difference, however, was our fee, which was, nothing. We did the work completely pro bono.

The Canary Project campaign shows that online outreach is not just about dollar signs, it’s about future investments.

Our work not only promoted The Canary Project in the blogosphere, it got our name out there as well — and in a very positive light. Many of the blog posts specifically mentioned Hass MS&L doing the work pro bono; that resonates well with bloggers. We were not seen as the PR stooges that so many bloggers are skeptical of.

It was, and continues to be, an amazing learning experience for us. The more an agency can be positively associated with word-of-mouth marketing, the more potential there is for future business.

Posted by staff at 04:34 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 24, 2007

Notable bloggers create a space for PR interaction

By Charlie Kondek

We have a number of bloggers in the mom/parenting sphere we admire and with whom we sustain relationships. Several of them have developed interesting side projects.

Companies want the attention of bloggers like these in large part because moms drive so many purchasing decisions. They're also important networkers and, let's face it, some of the most active bloggers there are. Mom bloggers react to overtures from firms like ours in different ways. Many of them have consolidated into groups such as BlogHer and the Parent Bloggers Network. A few, wanting to keep their principal blogs PR-free, have created side blogs dedicated to responding to marketing initiatives or consumer choices.

Here are a few we'd like to bring to your attention. If you know of others, by all means, share them. These blogs provide a valuable face from the blogger to companies seeking their attention.

• Busy Mom Reviews: We've always loved Busy Mom's blog and her motto, "Better parenting through coffee." Now she's got a place where she can talk about “the cool stuff nice people send me to review," an easy way to contact her and an FAQ that explains her stance on this whole thing. Hint: she'd like a diamond necklace!


• Props and Pans: The always witty Izzymom originally set this place up for the same purpose as Busy Mom Reviews, but recently she's been sharing it with other mom bloggers needing a similar outlet. The result has been a very entertaining and informative consumer blog, in which products from clothes to baby food to mobile phone plans are given "props" or "pans."


• WantNot.net: This site grew out of the brilliant prolific Woulda Shoulda blog. As Mir puts it: "WantNot.net is all about 'having it all with less...' It is my hope that this site will become a resource for anyone trying to live a fulfilled life without benefit of endless buckets of money." This frequently involves bringing to readers' attention sales, ways to save or stretch a dollar, and product recommendations.

If you don't know these mom bloggers, you should. We're very grateful to know them and work with them.

Posted by staff at 10:17 AM
Comments (8) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 23, 2007

Don’t neglect your “free Google ads”

By Kai Blum

Pay-Per-Click advertising, if done by experienced professionals, can yield high conversion rates and substantially increase profits. But don’t neglect the other major component of search engine marketing: organic search result listings. They’re free and users generally look at them first. Optimizing them leads to a higher number of visitors and potential conversions.

Organic search result listings are essentially free ads and site owners need to put as much effort into writing them as they do with their paid search results. Writing attention-getting titles and compelling descriptions for each page of the site will lead to a higher click-through-rate and can also improve search engine rankings if done right.

Most important is the selection of a keyword phrase for which a page should be optimized. These keyword phrases need to be included in the page title and the page description (both are placed in the appropriate meta tags of the page’s source code), in the headline of the page copy, two to three times in the first 100 words of the page text and a few more times later in the text. The challenge is to write something that appeals to search engines and users alike.

I cannot stress enough the importance of paying attention to every page of your site. Even if you don’t have a top-ranked site in the major search engines, it is possible to get a lot of visitors through individual pages, if they are optimized for specific keywords and users are looking for related information. But users will only click on the search result if the title and text are inviting. Keep in mind that paid search results which contain a call to action and speak directly to the user tend to have a higher click-through-rate. The same should be applied to organic search results.

There are other important factors that determine page rank (such as the number and quality of inbound links), but putting some effort into writing good page titles and descriptions as well as consistently adding high quality content will already make a noticeable difference and increase your number of visitors.

Posted by staff at 10:56 AM
Comments (7) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 22, 2007

When bloggers attack

...And what we took away from it

By Charlie Kondek

Some of us sat in on an audio seminar hosted by Bulldog Reporter last week. The subject was "When Bloggers Attack" and featured a panel of heavy hitters — Robert Scoble, Jenn McClure and Matthew Holt — talking about how blogs fit into companies' crisis communications and story-molding. It was a great seminar, with several take-aways. We found ourselves nodding in agreement with many of the ideas being presented, but we have our own perspectives on them as well.

I'm hoping my colleagues will chime in here, but some of my take-aways include:

• News moves in a matter of hours, not days or weeks, and a company can affect the news cycle and the story by responding quickly to what's being said online. A story can start to break online on Saturday and be above the fold of a major newspaper Monday, leaving the company behind in the dust. "The word of mouth network is hyper-efficient," Scoble said. Companies must monitor what's being said about them and, via their own company blog, acknowledge what's being said about them, even if it's only, "We have just become aware of this and are formulating a response to this at this time." Then the company must follow through and, at an executive level, respond. Scoble again: "The longer time you wait, the more that story is being written without your guidance."
• The panel stressed a need to maintain relationships with the bloggers most likely to talk about your company. This is done by correspondence or through events that include these bloggers. A company blog is one good way of maintaining these relationships; include these bloggers in your blogroll or link to what they are saying to demonstrate that you are listening.
• It's important to include not just A-list bloggers in your relations but also bloggers of all audience sizes. One mistake traditional PR makes is to worry only about those news outlets with large audiences; this won't work with the blogosphere, in which news can grow virally and bleed into mainstream media. McClure said: "A blogger that has a very small audience can have a very large impact."

The panel took questions and offered several actionable ideas and best practices. I'd recommend a Bulldog Reporter seminar to anyone after this. For us, the seminar was a real affirmation.

But we also differed with the panelists on a few points. For one thing, we're normally trying to be proactive, not reactive, in our blog-relations practices, and the logistics are quite different. Want to know more? Give us a call, we'll discuss it. *smiley*

Posted by staff at 04:30 PM
Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 19, 2007

Pew: Study reveals more Americans used the Internet in 2006 elections

By Charlie Kondek

TV is still king as a source for news and information, according to a new study by The Pew Internet & American Life Project, 69 percent of respondents saying they got most of their news there. Newspapers came in at 34 percent and radio 17 percent. But 15 percent said the Internet was their main source for campaign news during the election, up from 7 percent in the election of 2002. Only 2 percent said they got their news from magazines. (The exact question was: "How have you been getting most of your news about the November elections?")

It's also interesting to note that the number of respondents who identified the Internet as their primary source for campaign news was 18 percent in 2004 (78 percent chose TV and 39 percent newspapers), suggesting a heightened interest in the presidential race over Congressional races. The Internet certainly won't be ignored in the coming presidential race. Already it’s being used to distribute campaign information for potential presidential candidates Barack Obama, Hilary Clinton, John McCain and others. (Obama's use of online video to speak to voters is particularly interesting.)

Among the study's other interesting findings:

• A growing number of Americans used e-mail to discuss political information.


• Younger broadband users tend to favor the Internet as a source for news over newspapers.


• Web sites are playing an increasing role in dispensing political news, with information portals, issues-oriented web sites, blogs and comedy/satire sites all in the mix.


• It also shows that around 23 percent of those who used the Internet for political purposes created or forwarded online original political commentary or politically related videos, once again demonstrating the place user-created content has in the conversation.

None of this is particularly new to people who have been implementing web-based tactics in their communications initiatives, but it does reinforce those tactics. For people not using web-based tactics in their communications initiatives, it should be one of several wake-up calls.

Posted by staff at 11:27 AM
Comments (1) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 17, 2007

The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Blogger

By Charlie Kondek

I don't blog. At least, I don't call what I do blogging, because blogging, to me, means regularly providing content to a blog or family of blogs in which one has a long-term investment. This is not what I do, sporadically providing content here and elsewhere as part of a team of contributors. I read a lot of blogs, obviously, I converse with a lot of bloggers, but I don't number myself among their company. Recently, however, I tried my hand at blogging in a half-hearted, experimental way and I think it's given me some valuable insights into the world of the regular, committed blogger.

My reasons for not blogging are not extensive or complicated; I simply don't have time. I have two small children at home, and when I'm not working, I'm with my family. What little spare time I do have I normally spend with my wife or on my hobbies. Blogging, I think, can be a two-edged sword — it can help bring you closer to your interests or take energy away from them. For me, I decided it was the latter and left it alone.

We had our second child five months ago. Anyone with a baby knows you spend a lot of time sitting still, doing nothing but holding said baby. You watch a bit more TV than you used to, or read if you're able. It was at this time that my mom and step-dad loaned me the complete DVD set of the old television show, Kung Fu.

You remember this show, right? On the air in 1972-75, David Carradine walking through the Old West as the half-occidental monk Kwai Chang Caine? Barefoot and kicking butt? Learning and loving and righting wrongs, all between flashbacks of his days in the Shaolin monastery at the feet (and fists) of Master Po and Master Kan? I love kung fu movies, and as a kid I loved this show. I hadn't seen it in years and was eager to learn if it was as good as I remembered. Baby asleep on chest, I slipped the first DVD into the player after my older child and wife had gone to bed. The show WAS as good as I remembered. No, it was BETTER.

I went on with my life. I gleefully continued working my way through the series after everyone went to bed and I lay on the couch with our infant. I talked with my parents about it — I talked with everyone about it. I felt the show was deep, out of its time, a literary and cultural milestone in pop culture history. But nobody in my immediate circle was really watching it that way. My folks liked it, sure, and we chatted about it, but nobody wanted to sit down and discuss it with me the length and breadth of which I wanted. Not that I would have had time for such a discussion, anyway!

So then it hit me: this is how blogs get started, precisely because you have something to say and want to say so in a lasting way, to leave your mark in the form of the written word, to give voice for your feelings and have some reaction in return. One night after the kids were asleep and I was doing some work on our home computer, I whimsically fired up blogger.com. I started a blog about the experience of watching Kung Fu, figuring I would try it for a while and abandon it if I couldn't keep up with it. KwaiChangCaine.blogspot.com was born.

Building the site took maybe a half hour. I slapped up a few links, made a blogroll, and wrote my first post. I sat at my desk in the dark and stared at the computer. Suddenly, I was one of them. Suddenly, I had joined the conversation. Perhaps because the Internet moves at nearly the speed of thought, I expected some kind of instant feedback, a celebration, perhaps a lone comment at 1 a.m.: "Great new site! I think I speak for all kung fu and daddy bloggers when I say we are looking forward to more content from you!"

Of course, nothing happened.

Nothing happened when I looked at the blog again a few days later. I e-mailed a few other "Kung Fu" web sites to let them know about my blog. One of them added it to his resources page. I wrote a few more posts. Nothing much happened.

If the blog were a bigger outlet for me, I certainly would have done more to promote it, to network with like bloggers, exchange links, send pings, stuff like that. But because it was an experiment, I have let it whither. The most important thing for me, though, was that it let me get inside the skin of a blogger a little. I spend a lot of time communicating to bloggers on behalf of our clients without ever being one of them. Now, I think I have a better idea of what it's like to be on the other side of the keyboard.

• 1. Blogs get started because somebody has something to say, whether it is about the everyday, the huge, the personal, the universal, the eclectic or a combination of things. The theme to my blog could have morphed into "stuff I watch on TV while the baby sleeps on me."


• 2. Blogging is lonely, or can be. Certainly, some bloggers want no contact from PR firms and the like. They want to be left alone. But even those bloggers are part of a network of similar bloggers; they have friends. Except when we stuff a half-completed rough draft into a desk drawer, nobody wants to write something that no one will read. Blogs communicate.


• 3. Blogs want new readers and they welcome the overtures — if polite — of companies like ours. As a Kung Fu blogger I certainly would welcome, say, a nice note from the makers of the DVD set, info about other, related products such as books and movies, an invitation to collaborate on TV-related promotions. I would pass on news about David Carradine or a new coffee-table book on the show — especially if I got a copy of the coffee-table book on the show!

This isn't the time to rehash the already well-covered dos and don'ts of blog-based PR but it is a reminder that blogs are fertile ground for companies that want to respect them and empower them. Our own work, which involves dozens of bloggers with whom we regularly communicate and a handful that are on a respectful "do not pitch" list, attests to this.

So, uh, please read my kung fu blog, ok? Kidding!

Posted by staff at 09:37 AM
Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 11, 2007

Kodak enjoys the digital moment

When I saw this video on YouTube, I loved it right away. The video's summary is perfect:

"This is a commercial that was produced for internal use. But it has become so popular, especially with employees, that Kodak has released it for external viewing. It demonstrates that Kodak not only understands it's changing business but also has a sense of humor. "

Not only does Kodak understand its changing business, the company also appears to understand where it needs to be, such as involvement with YouTube.

Unfortunately, I'm one of those individuals who owned an Advantix camera (you'll see what I mean after watching the video.). It seemed like a great idea at the time...

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:38 PM
Comments (2) | TrackBack | Permalink

January 05, 2007

Tag, we're it

We were tagged on the Internet playground by Mike's Points for a "I bet you didn't this about me" meme. Since we have a cast of different authors here on BlogWorks, I thought I'd ask some of them for one fun fact...

Alicia Dorset: "I'm one of the founding members of Handmade Detroit, a craft/artist collective. We host the annual Detroit Urban Craft Fair."

Charlie Kondek: "I'm a third-degree black belt or 'san-dan' in kendo."

Chris Clonen: "I was a huge Islander fan growning up on Long Island."

Kai Blum: "None of my co-workers knew (until now) that I have a blog called 'My Dog Looks Like A Celebrity.'" This is true, I had no idea, Kai.

David Binkowski: "I was always taller than most of my classmates. This allowed certain "perks", among them the ability to earn money at the young age of 12 as a caddy. I was able to carry two bags at once, which got me a spot working with the international golf federation.

So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddie, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I'm a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dali Lama, himself.

Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald — striking.

So, I'm on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one — big hitter, the Lama — long, into a 10,000-foot crevice, right at the base of this glacier. And do you know what the Lama says? 'Gunga galunga — gunga, gunga galunga.'

So we finish 18, and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, 'HEY! LAMA! HEY! How about a little something, you know, for the effort? You know.'

And he says, 'Oh, uh, there won’t be any money. But when you die, on your death bed, you will receive total consciousness.'

So I’ve got that going for me, which is nice." Thanks, Bill Murray!

I was never very good at picking kids for my kickball team in elementary school, so feel free to tag yourself and leave us a comment with things we might not know about you.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 01:06 PM
Comments (4) | TrackBack | Permalink