« August 2007 | Main | October 2007 »

September 28, 2007

Blogging 101Live from BlogOrlando

I’m at BlogOrlando, which has been a great unconference – a free one-day conference run by Josh Hallett of Hyku. This morning, I talked about how you can and can’t use a blog for crisis communications, as demonstrated on the GM FastLane blog, which MS&L Digital manages.

And right after she and colleague Nichole Woodcock escaped from a large snake, our own Alicia Dorset led a great discussion about keeping your professional and personal lives separate online. Turns out a lot of people have been agonizing over this issue. Some of the dicussion topics:

  • a pottymouth blogger who works for the Catholic Church
  • a woman who wants to blog about her health problems but is afraid prospective employers will see it
  • how personal you can get on Facebook or MySpace profiles that bosses and clients will see
  • stalkers – they’re really out there
  • a middle school teacher whose kids are desperately trying to find his MySpace profile
  • the surprisingly vicious world of scrapbook blogging

Some other highlights: Jake McKee talked about how he worked on damage control for Lego when the company changed the color of three blocks without consulting its huge and dedicated fan base.

Tommy Duncan of the Tampa Bay local blog Sticksoffire.com talked about the demanding and exciting world of hyperlocal blogging.

And I really wanted to go to the search engine optimization session, but SEO was SRO.

Posted by Laurie Mayers at 05:23 PM
Comments (3) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 27, 2007

Happy ninth birthday, Google

Despite their being some debate about how old Google really is, it's definitely time for everyone's favorite web site to have some birthday cake.

And for some other fun Google logos, check out this post.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:16 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 26, 2007

Shameless Self-PromotionOff to Blog Orlando


...and boy, will our arms be tired!

A few of us here in Ann Arbor will be trading in the current rainy weather for (hopefully) some sunshine down in Florida this Friday at Blog Orlando.

Put together by Josh Hallett of hyku, this unconference promises to bring together some of the most-with-it minds in the blogosphere these days. Sessions will cover everything from blogger relations to blogging 101. I'll be speaking on keeping your personal life and digital life separate, and our own Laurie Mayers will cover crisis communication. Checking out the conference with us is Nichole Woodcock.

In case you'd like to know what we'll be covering...

    Laurie: "How do you handle a crisis via blog, or created via blog? Laurie Mayers of MSL (think the GM Fastlane Blog) will talk about how GM handles ‘issues’ online, and the limitations of what a publicly traded company can say on a blog."

    Alicia: "She’ll discuss how people are learning to blend their work/personal digital lives."

I'm looking forward to meeting the rest of the speakers and participants, so check back next week for thoughts and photos from Blog Orlando.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:46 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

Blogging 101Ogilvy PR’s Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics

By Kristin Magnani

My name is Kristin, and I‘m a new member of the MS&L Digital team based in the New York City office.

For someone still learning about blogging, and after viewing Ogilvy PR’s Blogger Outreach Code of Ethics, it was clear to me that monetary compensation is an on-going issue.

Many bloggers provided feedback on the code by posting comments directly to Ogilvy’s post. One blogger, MC Milker, of TheNotQuiteCrunchyParent (and teaches PR at the university level), has her own code of ethics:

    “Toss some money my way. If I’m willing to let you buy a simple brand ad on my site, I’m probably going to give you good review.”

There are a few noticeable opinions on this topic from different angles. The agency perspective, from a comment by Jason Linde of Ogilvy, is that his team encourages clients to advertise on certain blogs because it reaches the target audience, not because a good review is assured.

From a blogger perspective, LADaddy’s Tim Clark, puts an interesting spin on this debate saying that he identifies bloggers not just as people but as entertainers. Good reviews, according to LADaddy, are product placements which he views no different than a celebrity drinking a Coca-Cola in a TV commercial.

So my question is, if an agency approaches an influential blogger for a paid review, is that unethical? I would have to answer yes.

I find it unethical based on the fact that paying bloggers may give the appearance of a conflict of interest, which reflects a lack of credibility. I have a feeling that any blogger who knows they are being paid to write a review might be more susceptible to post something positive so that they’re asked to write again for the client. If all reviews are similar to one another, you might start to wonder why there is no originality or variety in the posts, again questioning the credibility.

What are your thoughts on a solution, or is there one?

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 01:35 PM
Comments (1) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 25, 2007

Caught in the BlogosphereAre you ready for Google’s Second Earth?

By Kai Blum

Rumor has it that Google plans to populate a 3D version of Google Earth with a new kind of Second Life.

That means a digital version of our planet would be completely repopulated and new countries and societies could be created.

My dream of owning an island and calling it Kailand may finally come true. Its digital economy will be based on Google Advertising, of course.

But wait, isn’t that Google’s goal for our real world as well? Things may become a bit blurry…

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:25 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 24, 2007

Caught in the BlogosphereAnimoto ends photo slideshows

If you haven't had a chance to check out Animoto yet, put it on your list of things to do today. Your Flickr photo stream will thank you later for the end of boring slideshows.

I've been very impressed with the beta version of this site so far. The idea is this: upload your photos or pull them in from another hosting service, add music, and Animoto will create a unique video customized to both your photos and your song. And the great part is, there are no two videos that are alike.

So far I've already been sent a few videos from friends obsessed with the site, so it appears that the idea is catching on. I'm excited to see what happens next for the Animoto kids. Keep updated by reading their blog.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:40 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 21, 2007

Caught in the BlogosphereMySpace know-how = $1 million

It pays to spend time on MySpace. Well, it does for 17-year-old Ashley Qualls, a young Detroit entrepeneur who recently turned a small MySpace design business, whateverlife, into a $1 million venture.

Not bad for an $8 investment from your mom.

TECH. BLORGE reports:

    Whateverlife.com targets teenage girls and offers MySpace layouts, as well as a magazine section. Her site ranks well above other websites produced by large corporations that target teenage girls, such as Seventeen and Cosmo Girl, as you can see in this Alexa chart.

She's had countless offers for the site, but has turned them all down so far. Kudos to Ashley for being a smart business woman and putting her MySpace skills to work. Ashley is just another example of the countless business opportunities the blogosphere offers.

I wonder if she'll help me pimp my MySpace profile...

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:41 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 20, 2007

Caught in the BlogosphereCheck out this crazy link...

Have you been Rick Roll'd yet?

The next time you receive a YouTube link from a co-worker or "supposed" loved one, think twice. You might be setting yourself up to watch Rick Astley's painfully classic "Never Gone Give You Up," or, a Rick Roll.

Not only is there a Rick Roll web site for the Internet-based joke, there's currently an Urban Dictionary entry, a Yahoo! Answers reply, and even a Digg update.

If you're ever asked for the definition of "viral video," this is it.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:44 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink

September 12, 2007

Search Engine MarketingImportant advice for everyone naming a small business

By Kai Blum

Thinking about starting and naming a small business? Want people to find your business online? Then make sure that your business name includes words that people type into search engines to find services like yours.

Here’s why: Most web sites linking to your site will use your business name as link anchor text. Having your desired keywords in your business name and therefore in the link anchor text will help you rank significantly higher for those keywords, since this is an important factor in search engine algorithms.

Here’s an example: You’d like to open a massage therapy business in Chicago. According to Google’s keyword tool, most potential clients would use keywords like “massage” or “massage therapists” in connection with the search term “Chicago”.

Therefore, don’t simply name your business “Busy Hands” or something like that, because people don’t use “busy hands” as search terms. Make sure to include “massage” and “Chicago” in your business name, if you want to rank for these keywords.

On how to select the right keywords and website/business name, read my earlier blog post, “Nomen est omen” for search traffic.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:23 PM
Comments (0) | TrackBack | Permalink