March 13, 2008

Working with bloggers

By Charlie Kondek

Information Week has a great piece by Boing Boing contributor Cory Doctorow on making it easy for bloggers to write about you. He runs down 17 tips to make your web site or the web-based part of your promotion friendlier to other bloggers, including the judicious use of permalinks and images, and a smart linking policy.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 10:15 AM
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February 06, 2008

What's the diff?

By Charlie Kondek

My friend and former co-worker Clayton Closson invited me to guest blog a post at the blog he manages for Quicken Loans, What's the Diff? The theme of the Diff blog is the difference between average and excellent. Clayton encouraged me to write about something personal and important, not necessarily having to do with business or PR or anything else. So I wrote a heartfelt post about one of my passions that I'm kinda proud of. I admire What's the Diff for its broadness of topic and diversity of perspectives. Doesn't always have a business goal in mind but, rather, shows the company's interests in plain old humanity. I hope you'll check it out.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 12:28 PM
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October 12, 2007

Q&A with Joel Johnson of Boing Boing Gadgets

By Charlie Kondek

In August, Boing Boing, one of the most popular blogs on the net, started a subblog, Boing Boing Gadgets, and placed tech writer and journalist Joel Johnson at its helm. This was a significant development for Boing Boing, which shares the top slots in the blogosphere with rivals Engadget and Gizmodo, although gadgets and technology, an interest of Boing Boing's, has never been its sole focus.

Johnson kindly shared some of his time with us in Q&A format on his new role at Boing Boing. Warning: Joel is an entertaining and honest writer. Some frank language awaits!

Q: First off, congratulations on your new position. You've worked at the prestigious Gizmodo blog and created Dethroner, one of my favorite online men's magazines. How's it feel to be working at Boing Boing? It's probably no secret to you that many people can identify Boing Boing as a top blog even if they don't know much about web-based pubs or blogs. In fact, as a PR person I have run into this quite a bit: a person with only a shallow understanding of blogs asking, "How do we get Brand X on Boing Boing?"

A: It feels great! I know it must sound like some big internerd f***fest every time I say it, but I have always been huge fans of the Boingers and to be welcomed into the fold was a surprise and a huge bump for my ego. And they've been nothing but supportive and encouraging, which is amazing. Best work co-workers I've ever had. Go Team Venture!

As for getting something on Boing Boing, just send it in. We get hundreds of submissions a day, though, so a personal note explaining who you are and why the readers should care about the story goes a long way. I don't chuck out press releases, but my brain secretes a protective anti-dreck emulsion every time I see one show up in my email. But a personal note I'll read and often respond to, even if I don't necessarily think it's a good fit for the site.

Q: You did an interview on Boing Boing Gadgets at Gizmodo, and from that interview and the rhetoric coming out of your posts, it sounds like you're still defining the role of Boing Boing Gadgets. You described it as existing outside "the churn." In other words, if I'm describing it correctly, you don't feel the need to comment on each and every development in the tech/gadget world – Engadget, Gizmodo and several others do that. You only want to write about the subjects that seem interesting to you. Is that correct and is that still your mission?

A: Jason Kottke, who is an inspiration (and who I am currently stalking) recently said this: "If you're wondering what I do all day, the answer is: throwing stuff out. kottke.org is not so much what's on the site as what is not chosen for inclusion."

That remains my mission. Fortunately it runs parallel to my desire to only write about things I find personally interesting. It may not be the most effective method to quickly build pageviews, but I'd rather people read Boing Boing Gadgets and find most of the posts interesting, rather than skimming through a list of the day's releases, quality or not. Like I said to Gizmodo, I think there's a place for that style of comprehensive blogging, but it just doesn't interest me personally. I am blessed to have the luxury of business partners who share the same philosophy.

Q: Let's talk about PR. You're a powerful force in blogging. Every PR/ad/marketing person with a tech or gadget story to pitch would like to talk to you. How do you want to be approached? What advice, cautions or feedback, if any, would you give to people like me and my clients?

A: Let's be frank: I am probably the most powerful person on the internet.

Just be real. Don't be apologetic. I understand that working in PR is slowly sapping your belief in the inherent usefulness of humanity, but if you're apologizing for sending me something boring because it's your job, it's not going to motivate me to post it.

On the other hand, you don't have to be my buddy, either. There are a very small number of PR folks that I am actual friends with and our relationship built over time based on things beside the products they hawk. Frankly, I don't *want* to be your friend, because when you have a shit product that I don't want to pass on to my readers, it makes me feel like a dick for doing my job.

That sounds more prickish than I wish it did, but I've just met too many PR people who think they can trick bloggers and journalists into mistaking them for friends. That may work for some, but most of us can see the covers of your Dale Carnegie books peeking out of your hip new messenger bag.

So be friendly, not slimy, I guess. Be professional. (Even though so many bloggers are not.) And tell me why your product is worth mentioning with real English, not a list of incrementally updated stats, business successes, or lame partnerships with over-the-hill rock bands. If you can't do that, the product may actually suck. Reconsider your clientele!

Also, I almost always prefer talking to an engineer or a developer who actually worked on the project rather than the VP of Marketing, should you want to set up an interview. I've met plenty of marketing folks who knew the technical ins-and-outs of their product, but they were usually once in the trenches themselves. (I once had a great interview with a VP from Sprint who ended up being a 30-year veteran of the Bell system who not only answered my question, but took half-an-hour to explain the history of call echo mitigation technologies on pre-digital telephony switches. Most of it didn't go into my article, but it was invaluable for background that helped my understanding of the subject.)

Finally: Most journalists are suckers for free booze. Sad but true.

Q: Having worked in journalism myself, I can attest to this. But I know for a fact that at least two of the Boingers abstain. Still, if one wants to treat Joel Johnson to a beverage, what's his choice?

A: I'd rather not answer. Sounds too much like I'm fishing for a freebie. :) As far as I know, all the Boingers are teetotalers. I'm the only one willing to do the Lord's work.

Posted by Laurie Mayers at 05:33 PM
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October 11, 2007

What is your privacy setting?

By Nichole Woodcock

At this year’s BlogOrlando, I had the opportunity to participate in an intriguing classroom discussion “Living Online,” lead by our own Alicia Dorset. The class focused on social networking sites and how people are living in the digital world. At an age where social networking sites are targeting everyone from teenagers to Baby Boomers, personal information has more avenues than ever for exposure online.

I joined Facebook when it first launched, that was when you actually had to have a valid college email address to become a member. As we all know, the Facebook of today has opened the door to the masses and is now one of the top social networking sites. With Facebook and other sites such as, MySpace, Twitter, LiveJournal and LinkedIn allowing a wide demographic of people join, debate over privacy and sharing personal information arise.

The definition of my personal privacy setting is, “limiting all online material to things I would not mind my parents or colleagues seeing.” Since I began my professional career, I certainly post different things than a typical college student. At BlogOrlando, I learned that I am actually very conservative compared to the majority of those who participated in the discussion.

Many in the room felt that they had nothing to hide or filter online, even professionals. There were very valid and strong opinions being shared. Some felt that if a company or person had an issue with items placed online via networking sites or blogs, then they ultimately had a conflict of interest with the person.

For example, many people place images of them hanging out with friends and they happen to be drinking alcohol. At a company, if you are over 21, it is almost assumed you drink and people feel that posting images hanging out at a bar is not inappropriate. There have been instances where companies have suspended workers, of drinking age, for posting this material.

One of the most popular instances of companies not approving personal online content took place in Pennsylvania where a teacher in training was denied an education degree from Millersville University. Pictures were found on the teacher’s MySpace page alleging they were “promoting underage drinking.“ Interestingly enough, the teacher was not drinking with minors, taking shots or even doing something obscene. The picture in question was of the teacher at a Halloween party dressed up as a pirate and drinking from a plastic cup, and you could not tell what the teacher was drinking. The caption under the picture read “Drunken Pirate.” That simple phrase has cost the teacher their degree on the very eve of graduation. The teacher is now suing the state of Pennsylvania for the education diploma and personal damages.

This leaves a gray area as to what is appropriate content online. We are ultimately left to police ourselves and the content we are willing to place in our online communities. BlogOrlando “Living Online” leaves me to conclude that no matter how open or filtered a person is online they have an “internal privacy setting” that they adhere to. Limiting profile information or blocking users are just a few of the settings we have to guard our level of comfort online. As social networking sites continue to rise in popularity, information available and accessible online is left in the hands of the profile holder.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 12:36 PM
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October 01, 2007

Kidrobot founder launches blog

File this under "cool blogs to keep an eye on"

Marc Church, one of our designers here at MS&L Digital, sent me this link today. Kidrobot's (home to art toys and fashion apparel) founder Paul Budnitz launched his own blog back in August. Filled with updates from the animation, fashion, and lifestyle industries, this blog is a good one to watch for a laid-back approach to "corporate" blogging.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:19 PM
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September 28, 2007

Live 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
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September 26, 2007

Ogilvy 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
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August 21, 2007

Table 4 Five: Year One

By Charlie Kondek

When we first met Elizabeth Edwards, the mother of three and the pen behind Table 4 Five , Mom Reviews and a few other side projects (not John Edwards' wife), she had just started out as a blogger. Elizabeth was eager, fascinated and perhaps a little intimidated by the world she had just joined, especially upon attending her first BlogHer conference. That was a little more than a year ago. Elizabeth just returned from her second BlogHer conference one year wiser. We got a chance to catch up with her and ask her what kind of perspective she had on blogging and the mom blogosphere now.

(Note that as you read the exchange, Elizabeth refers to bloggers being paid a stipend for time spent writing product reviews. That is not a practice we do at MS&L.)

Q: How did you get started blogging and why?
A: In the summer of 2005, I was pregnant with my daughter and was put on bedrest. My husband got me a laptop and wired it up so I could use it while reclining on the couch. I was on the Yahoo! home page one day, and I saw a link to the Best of Blogs Awards. I had heard of blogs, but I had never read one. I started clicking links on the B.O.B. site and was excited to find that there were blogs written by Moms! I also couldn't believe that there was a way to leave a comment on what I had read. But in order to leave a comment, I had to have a URL, which meant getting a blog. I logged in to Blogger, created Table for Five, and the rest is history!

Q: What are some of the challenges you've faced in keeping Table for Five going?
A: I haven't really had any problems keeping the blog going. I've been lucky that my family was supportive of my blogging right from the beginning. I've had to take a few short breaks from updating, to focus on family needs, but I haven't had technical problems or problems with readers at all.

Q: What blogs do you read?
A: I don't have a set daily list, although I used to start at the top of my RSS reader and work my way all the way down, every day. What I do now is, when someone leaves me a comment, I click through to see what they are posting about. The two blogs I read the most are Amalah.com, and Dooce.com, both popular mommy blogs, and rightfully so. Occasionally I pick a blog from my reader that I haven't visited in a while and catch up on their last few posts.

Q: What would you say to a new blogger?
A: Commit yourself to a regular posting schedule, and stick to it. It doesn't have to be every day, but it gets you in the habit of writing, and your readers will know when to expect a new post.

Second piece of advice: Visit other bloggers who write about the same topics as you, read their posts, and leave comments that contribute to the discussion. To really attract attention to your blog quickly, submit a post to a Blog Carnival or join a group like Thursday Thirteen. It's great to have readers, and commenters, but it's also great to be part of a community.

Third piece of advice: Use the spell-check on your posts. If English isn't your first language, check your grammar carefully. And for heaven's sakes, please do not write your blog posts as if they were a text message. No one wants to read all-caps, words like "ur", no punctuation, run-on posts. Take the writing seriously.

Fourth piece of advice: If you see something on another blog that you wish you could do with yours, leave a polite comment or send an email and ask the person if they would please tell you how they did whatever that thing is. I learned almost everything I know about blogging from asking other bloggers for help.

Fifth piece of advice: You CANNOT PLEASE EVERYONE. You will eventually get a comment that is snarky, or even mean. You might get nasty emails. Just keep your focus, and remember, it's YOUR blog, in YOUR space, with YOUR words. Unless someone else is paying you, the choice of what to put on your blog is yours.

Q: What would you say to someone new to BlogHer?
A: If you write a blog, and you are interested in meeting other women (and some men) who also blog, you might be interested in both reading the BlogHer web site and joining the BlogHer community, and you might also be interested in coming to an annual BlogHer conference. At a conference, you will be treated to two days of sessions and workshops devoted to all of the many aspects of blogging and of having a presence online. You will be dined, and wined, and given pounds of free goodies from sponsors. Companies will send representatives to the conferences just to meet bloggers like you! It's a great way to meet other bloggers, do some valuable networking, plus you get to take a little vacation at the same time. And it's not just for women, despite being called BlogHER, it is open to men too, if they are interested in working with women bloggers.

Q: What's the deal with bloggers who earn money with their blogs?
A: I could write you paragraphs about monetization. I have lost sleep over this topic since getting back from BlogHer, so this is what I want to say—

1. Marketing companies, public relations companies, and advertising agencies need to understand this: A well-written, high-traffic blog with a good reputation can be a very valuable way to get the word out about your product. Use a blog advertising company like BlogAds, BlogHer Ad Network, Parent Bloggers Network, or PayPerPost Direct, and you will find the perfect site on which to place your campaign. You need to understand that there are bloggers out there who see their blogs as their business. They work very hard on them, spend long hours on content, design, and networking, and placing a campaign on a blog can reach thousands of people a week.

2. The biggest problem that many bloggers have with monetization is that companies do not pay bloggers a "fair wage". What we are doing for you is essentially freelance writing, so pay us what you would pay for a freelance writing job. If it's a product review, send us the product but also a stipend for the time we spend writing.

3. When thinking about which blogs to approach with your campaign, look for blogs written by people of color. I was SHOCKED during a session at BlogHer to find out that African-American, Latino, and Asian-American bloggers NEVER get sent emails about product reviews. Why not? They use the same products as everyone else!

4. And for bloggers reading this, I want to say this— choose your ads carefully. Before accepting a text, image, or flash badge ad, make sure it is for a product that is a good fit for your blog, and is something that you yourself would use. A few well-chosen ads will be more valuable to you than a bunch of different ones that don't make sense on your site.

My last words of advice for bloggers? Be grateful. Appreciate your readers, appreciate the comments they leave, appreciate your advertisers. Say Thank You, a lot, and mean it. Kind words go a long way.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 02:44 PM
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August 09, 2007

Ad Age names Power 150

In case you missed it, make sure to check out Ad Age's "Power 150" list of top media and marketing blogs.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 01:11 PM
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July 15, 2007

Back in Skinny Jeans: A New Look for a Pro Blogger

By Charlie Kondek

Stephanie Quilao is the pen behind Back in Skinny Jeans, a thoughtful, well-written blog about one woman's humorous, observant journey to fitness, to getting back into "the skinny jeans." More than that, it is Quilao's firing range on such topics as fashion, Hollywood, body image, women's issues, food and other happenings in related sectors of the blogosphere.

Quilao has balanced her work in writing and her professional life in business, making some pretty bold choices along the way (including resigning a gig with Microsoft as a brand evangelist, read on). She recently redesigned her site, which has a dedicated following among readers and like bloggers, and repurposed it with a fresh mission statement. We got a chance to catch up with her for a Q&A that gives some insight into the mind of a talented and influential creator.

Q: Tell us about your background and training.

A: I spent my entire 13-year corporate career in technology marketing in various roles ranging from advertising, PR, customer marketing, and online marketing in both enterprise and consumer industries. I’ve worked at companies ranging from start-ups to Fortune 500. I actually know life working in Silicon Valley before the Internet. Makes me sound real old but really it was only two U.S. Presidents ago.

The last corporate company I worked for was NVIDIA, and I had the fortune of being there before the IPO to help the company grow $1.3 billion in three years. I decided I wanted to have a life, so I left and took a two-year mid-life retirement to enjoy the fruits of my labor, and most importantly get healthy. The need to regain my health got me using the Internet more to find resources and meet others like myself.

During my “off time”, the term “Web 2.0” started to buzz, and I, being one who loves things new and unusual, dove right in and discovered blogging. I thought blogging was the coolest thing in the world because it is about self-expression that is completely uncensored. I read about this guy who bought a house with Google AdSense money by writing all day about things he loves, and thought, “How cool is that?” So I decided that I wanted to become a professional blogger.

Q: Tell us why you started Back in Skinny Jeans. How has the blog developed since you first envisioned it - close to what you originally conceived, or different?

A: When I made the decision to become a “Pro Blogger,” I started with four blogs; three were designed specifically for revenue generation, and the fourth was Back in Skinny Jeans, which was just meant to be a platform for me to rant about our society’s obsession with beauty and thinness. The name was inspired from the fact that every woman has a pair of skinny jeans in her closet because it represents the dream of bliss and perfection your life will have once you can be thin enough to wear those jeans again. Sound silly?

Well, after three months, not only was Back in Skinny Jeans getting more traffic than all the other three blogs put together, it was making more money just from Google AdSense, and some affiliate marketing I did which was more about recommending books and movies I liked. I was quite stunned. All my traditional marketing training was asking, “How is this possible? It’s got to be some kind of fluke.” Quickly, I learned that my success was attributed to the fact that I hit a very strong emotional chord with many women who felt just like me.

People are so inundated with advertising nowadays that they tend to just block it all out or distrust it because it’s coming from the mouth of some large corporation, so now people are looking to their social circles and others like them for referrals and references. With Back in Skinny Jeans, I am merely one woman who speaks her truth about what it’s like trying to feel good as I am and finding balance while living in a world that bombards us women with messages of, “You can’t be thin or beautiful enough.” The topic is also one that I am passionate about so I ditched the other three blogs, and looked to see what I could do with Back in Skinny Jeans.

Q: You recently redesigned the look of the site and made a statement tightening its mission. You also are making it more personal — the site is about women's issued regarding fitness but also your issues, specifically. What lead to that decision?

A: My current challenge is creating a balance of strategies to make money and keep the quality of my message. For example, at one point, I focused more on celebrity news because celebrity names get higher hits thus helping in search engine optimization. Like many bloggers, I got caught up in the SEO game because I wanted to start getting paid advertisers. Most of the banners on my blog are from affiliate programs. The field of celebrity gossip is so over saturated that there was no way I could compete without completely changing what I do at Back in Skinny Jeans. Plus, I didn’t want to be just another news aggregator type blog where you just collect info from around the web and re-report it with your two cents thrown in. I wanted to create more original content that would add value to the lives of my readers.

One of my marketing friends recommended that I read Made to Stick by Chip and Dan Heath, and from that it inspired me to think about mattering to “someone” rather than trying to be everything to everybody. I had bits of fashion, feminism, weight loss, beauty, celebrity gossip, recipes, and even web product reviews. Covering women’s topics as a whole is too broad for one blog, so I decided to focus on one thing that could make Back in Skinny Jeans “sticky” and that is the topic of weight loss as an expression of self-love. As well, I gained about 25 pounds in the last two years, so it’s an opportunity to talk about my own journey to shed those excess pounds. I’m walking the talk! And lastly, most sites about weight loss are, in my opinion, kind of sterile, too serious, and too medical feeling. I want to add a sense of style and humor to a journey that is commonly seen as “hard, frustrating work.” It’s a chance to stand out.

I made the focus change on June 13, and my traffic has gone up 30 percent in that time. It has been much easier to talk to ad networks and companies about advertising. I added a bookstore, and very soon I will add extension blogs for healthy eating ideas and a store to buy workout, fitness, and healthy living gear.

Q: You recently left a job as an evangelist for Microsoft to concentrate on blogging instead. You blogged about that extensively. Anything you can add to that?

A: It still makes me giggle to say that blogging about getting back into skinny jeans helped me land a job at Microsoft. You never know where blogging can take you. Sometimes I still have days where I kick myself for leaving Microsoft so soon because I had a nice steady paycheck, and some awesome benefits. But, at the end of the day, I can’t work just for a paycheck, and there is something far more fulfilling working for myself on something I REALLY love. I have no doubt that the newly created Enthusiast Evangelist role will have great impact on Microsoft’s success online.

One thing I do admire Microsoft for more than any other corporate company I have seen is Microsoft’s encouragement of their employees to blog. I mean they want you to blog to your heart’s content. Of course there are the “don’t spill un-announced stuff” guidelines and rules, but other than that, the company highly encourages their folks to blog in open and honest ways even if that means being honest about some of the not-so-perfect things about your own company. I don’t know of many huge corporations that have that much trust in their employees to blog in that fashion. Other companies can learn from Microsoft’s example.

Q: What's the future hold for you and blogging at large?

A: The most fulfilling part of my day is getting e-mails from people telling me that something I wrote helped them have a more productive, happy, and inspiring day. I get e-mails from people who thank me for helping them feel less alone, and to feel braver about facing their own issues because they saw me do it. I want to continue to create more content that will help people in their lives.

What I am doing with Back in Skinny jeans makes me feel fulfilled in a way that I never did in my corporate career. Don’t get me wrong, I had a great deal of happy and good learning experiences in my corporate life, but I was never of service to other human beings as I am today. Discovering blogging was the best thing that ever happened to me.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 10:30 AM
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June 27, 2007

Product reviews and contest giveaways

By Nichole Hurley

So what exactly is happening with the new craze of online contests and how did it get started?

Of course, people love contests. Companies have always used contests to promote their products. Contests have also been a part of online life and the blogging community, according to Janice Croze of 5 Minutes For Mom.

Janice and Susan at 5 Minutes for Mom noticed that contests were not being used in product reviews, and large contests appeared only on large sites (Janice and Susan run a unique “mom” social networking site that that is also a shopping resource and entertainment blog). It’s within their blog’s goals to provide reviews and contests for their readers. They noticed that their product reviews got very little attention until they changed them into contests. That’s when they became a “main stage attraction.”

Based on my own observations and outreach efforts, incentivizing promotions that aren’t product review-based have often been necessary in order to get bloggers to be receptive to your pitches. In all obviousness, the idea of receiving “free stuff” is what ultimately appeals to people. And providing them with a small token of appreciation for sharing their opinions is certainly a small price to pay, especially when a high level of influence is involved.

But Janice and Susan, while always looking for new ways to engage their readers, take “incentive” to a whole new level by creating these contest giveaways. They feel this tactic provides their readers with a chance for personal gain, whereas a generic product review only provides them with information. And although there is never a guarantee for everyone to receive swag with a contest put into play, the general idea of having a chance to win something has been seemingly just as appealing as actually getting it.

They have received hundreds to thousands of entries for these contests including bloggers, non-bloggers who are active online in other ways, and participants from both Canada and the U.S. With their readers in mind and their goals and tactics at-large, Janice and Susan are highly regarded in the mom blogging community.

While we at MS&L Digital have had the privilege of working with these fun moms for several campaigns, we have helped to coordinate several giveaways. Some of these items have included household and food-oriented products to high-ticket items such as electronic gadgets and DVD box sets.

So the next question is, how does everyone benefit from this? Take a look at what 5 Minutes for Mom does…

In order to grow their contests, continue building traffic for their site, and help promote the sponsoring company even further, 5 Minutes for Mom asks the participating bloggers to link back to their contest as well as to the company, providing free, top quality, word of mouth advertising!

With the excitement and craze of all these contests, you’ll notice when doing online searches or even navigating through other mom blogs that these ideas have taken off with the mommy blogging community, as other mommy bloggers are adopting these techniques for their own blogs.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 10:57 AM
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June 18, 2007

Road Work

By Charlie Kondek

Mike Sansone over at ConverStations has an interesting post up about finding, and planning, the time to blog.

He compares blogging to running, and suggests bloggers warm-up first, the same way a runner would before a jog.

"So, before I even think about my own post, I invest 15-20 minutes responding to comments on my blog and commenting on other sites. I find this gets me in a blogging rhythm. While commenting — a post formulates that I can bang out in another 20-30 minutes."

This resonated with me because it touched on two of my interests, writing and exercising. It seems to me that what Mike is talking about is the discipline of writing. Lots of people favor different approaches to writing but one thing they share in common is the discipline to write consistently, something Mike addresses here.

Blogging is a specific kind of writing, of course, but whatever your goals are with it, you have to stay consistent and, yes, warming up and regular stretching of the muscles is required.

I'm also tempted to stretch the analogy further, thinking about my own running habits. Should I listen to James Brown on my headphones while I write, or rap music? Should my writing go around and around in a circle, or stretch out into new horizons? Do I have the right outfit for writing? Will I be too warm? What about headgear?

That's the thing about analogies. Like muscles, they can be stretched too far!

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:13 PM
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March 07, 2007

Plum: One-Stop Social Networking Shopping

By Melanie Seasons

I wish Plum had been around from the first time I signed up for MySpace.

The industry of social media networking grows every day. We have Photobucket and Flickr for photos, Google Video and You Tube for videos, Last.fm and Mog for music and way too many sites for keeping in touch with friends and family (if you're like me, you have accounts at all of them).

The market has been completely over saturated with social networking programs and web sites. I find myself constantly asking "what else could there be?" only to be provided with an answer on what seems to be a weekly basis.

So what is "the next big thing" in social networking? More importantly, do we even need another social networking site? Maybe.

There's a lot of buzz around a new site called Plum that is designed to organize and collect photos, videos, bookmarks, blog feeds and documents from different sources — Internet or hard drive-based. The site uses tags, sets, and profiles. Once it gets a feel for what the user "likes," it will make suggestions on what to share with other users.

The site features handy shortcut applications that can be attached to your browser toolbar or desktop to make it easier for you to collect files.

What I like about Plum is that it's based on the idea that people are losing their minds having to go from site to site, account to account, to find that video or picture or file. Having everything in one place is an idea whose time has come.

Plum will definitely not be the last "next big thing," but it will certainly make it easier to catalogue the new one when it comes along.

Plum is still in beta, but you can request an account on the Plum homepage.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:41 PM
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March 06, 2007

A good example of moderation

Last fall, I posted about the need for moderating comments in newspaper discussion forums. One of our local newspapers, The Detroit Free Press, doesn’t moderate the comments posted to its stories online, and more often than not the remarks are off-topic and wildly inappropriate, such as recent remarks found on the Tara Grant murder coverage, ranging from gay bashing to swearing up a storm, reflect. The Free Press even admits it doesn't review comments before they are posted, but will remove them if they are deemed "offensive" after the comments have gone live and viewed by the public.

"Public posts to these forums do not represent the views of freep.com or the Detroit Free Press. We do not review comments prior to those posts appearing on the site. If you see an abusive comment that you would like to have reviewed for possible removal, please contact us at..."

However, The Detroit News, the paper’s neighbor and direct competitor, has a much better approach to moderation when allowing readers to share their thoughts.

“The Detroit News Online does not tolerate offensive language in its forums. The News will kill offensive posts. Participants can and will be denied access for violating our acceptable use policy. Notice a problem? Tell us.”

Unlike the Free Press, the News posts a user’s name, city and state when a comment goes live. I took a look at the comment form, and was pleased to see the information (age, phone number, e-mail) I was required to supply to make sure my comment was of the highest integrity. The personal information, as the questionnaire points out, is for follow-up purposes with News staff members.

“Why we ask: We require some information for verification. We do not publish phone numbers or e-mail addresses. Your comments will be considered for the printed edition of The Detroit News only if full name and city are provided.

There was also another reminder of proper commenting etiquette:

“Do: Show courtesy toward other writers. No name-calling, please.
Do not: Copy and paste material from another Web site, other than a brief quote. Letters must be original.”

I applaud the News for having such a thorough set of guidelines for comments. By making it clear what is and isn’t accepted, readers have a clear understanding of what is allowed on the site, and more importantly, why a comment might not have made it into the forum. Too often, commenters aren’t held accountable for their thoughts; with a policy like this, it’s a step in the toward making postings of any kind, whether it’s a blog, a message on a board, or a comment on a news story, more credible.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:59 PM
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February 08, 2007

This Mama Writes: Anne-Marie Nichols

By Charlie Kondek

Anne-Marie Nichols is a writer who has experienced both sides of the communications industry; she was and is a marketing professional AND a blogger whose work combines her interests in parenting, food, new media and other things. Check out this link for a quick snapshot of Nichols' recent work and you'll get what I mean; she writes, coordinates and contributes to 11 blogs, ranging in topic from the professional to the personal to the observational.

We interviewed Nichols to get some of her insights into marketing and communications with new media.

Kondek: First of all, Anne-Marie, how do you keep up with all the blogs?
Nichols: Well, I don’t blog at all of them every day. For example, I post at both Parents Behaving Badly and A Readable Feast around three times a week. At MOTHERS Book Bag, I update the site every two months to go along with an e-newsletter I do for MOTHERSOughtToHaveEqualRights. Other ones I’ve stopped writing at, like Citizen Mom’s Family Journal. Since my contract with StudioOne Networks is over, they’re just rerunning old content. At my personal blogs, like This Mama Cooks! or A Write Spot, I try to blog one to three times a week.

It helped that I dropped a great deal of volunteer work. I was a founding board member of a charter school, which was like having a part-time unpaid job. I also stopped doing their web site (also unpaid), so that freed up a great deal of time. So, yes, I have a ton of work, but I’m organized and a fast writer. Plus having insomnia, a wireless connection in the house, and a laptop in the kitchen helps.

Kondek: You've been on both sides of media relations, both on the marketing side and on the blog side. In fact, when I first got to know you, I only knew you as This Mama Cooks!, not as someone from my own industry. These next two questions address that: as a marketing and communications professional, what are your thoughts on the value and practice of new media relations?
Nichols: The best thing about new media is that it’s cheap, easy and quick to start. I tell small business people I meet that blogs and e-newsletters are extremely affordable ways to reach out and communicate with their customers — no printing, postage, or labels, and a very short lead time. If there’s ever an emergency, like a recall or a scandal, you can get the word out to your clients in a matter of minutes. Blogs are great ways to solicit feedback from your customers, too.

It’s interesting to see all these big companies holding contests for amateurs to create their Super Bowl ads. User-generated content indeed — very cool.

Kondek: And as a blogger?
Nichols: For us “creatives” (writers, musicians, movie directors, singers, etc.) you get rid of the gatekeepers — you no longer have to deal with editors, music companies, or Hollywood to get your stuff out to your audience. It’s that old punk rock DIY thing — anyone can do it! Plus, talk about instant gratification. People love telling you if your video on YouTube is cool or crap.

Personally, blogging has been a great way to start writing again after being home with my kids. In fact, it’s the only writing I can do with them destroying the house, watching Power Rangers with the volume on high, or fighting with each other. Writing a novel would be way too hard in this kind of environment. And I’ve met some wonderful people through my blogs – fellow bloggers, publicists, editors, writers, and readers.

Kondek: How do other mom blogs feel about people like me? Even though it may be repetitive at this point, what pointers can you give about approaching them?
Nichols: I have no idea how other mommy bloggers feel about publicists. Just be honest and open with them. Personally, I like receiving freebies (more booze and chocolate please). It gives me a chance to read books I wouldn’t normally or to try a product I normally wouldn’t buy. Finally, it directs my writing by giving me a topic to write about. It’s not the writing that’s hard but deciding WHAT to write about that’s a challenge.

Kondek: As you know and as our relationship testifies, I believe in sustaining relationships with bloggers and web editors. What advice can you give me and other PR flacks to that end?
Nichols: Just keep in touch, and say please and thank you. The Christmas card was a nice touch, too.

Bottom line though? Don’t treat mommy bloggers like a bunch of dumb housewives and blogging as our “cute little hobby.” Many of us were professional writers and marketers before we stayed home with our kids. We blog because we have a brain and need to reach out to people and share our stories.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:03 PM
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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
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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
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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
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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
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November 17, 2006

The need for moderation

When reports that Bo Schembechler, former Universtiy of Michigan head football coach, had been rushed to the hospital this morning, the Detroit Free Press posted the news bulletin along with a forum for readers to comment. Normally this wouldn't have been an issue, but with just one day before the rivalry-fueled Michigan/Ohio State University game (to determine the top college football team in the country), it didn't take long for vocal OSU fans to give their thoughts on Schembechler's condition and then the news of his death.

Another one bites the dust And another one gone, and another one gone Another one bites the dust

Posted with angry "devil" smiley faces, commenter, and OSU fan, Hope&Glory's comment immediately ignited passionate, and uncensored, remarks from fellow bloggers.

Hope & Glory — I hope you don't burn in he** for what you just said. Typical OSU fan - mean-spirited and ignorant.

By 4 p.m., 138 comments had been posted, completely unfiltered. While I applaud allowing both negative and positive comments to be posted on a blog normally, moderation is sometimes necessary when dealing with sensitive subjects, such as the death of a well-known individual. User jmu1016 sums it up best:

How come the moderators on this forum doesn't ban the moron, I posted a comment over at the columbus dispatch and they get read first and any inappropriate behavoir doesn't get posted. Get him off here Free Press. Tressel 5-1 after tomorrow.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 03:38 PM
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November 03, 2006

Getting the message to the people — online

It’s a tough time for the state of Michigan right now. The economy is hurting, jobs are leaving, and cuts can be felt across the state’s budget. On top of all this, the governor’s job is up for re-election this year, and these challenges have set the tone for many heated, passionate campaign points.

There are just a few days left for voters to decide if they want to re-elect Democratic incumbent Gov. Jennifer Granholm, or allow Republican Dick DeVos, former Amway president, a shot at the job. For those voters still uncertain on how they should vote, turning to the candidates’ blogs can offer different insight from the negative television ads and heated debates. Both candidates have campaign blogs, documenting their cross-state stops.

On at Granholm’s site, her blog not only allows her to speak with a more relaxed, candid tone, it also gives a voice to some of her campaign workers. The comments on the blog range in tone, from praise for a job well done to asking for help in tough times. The blog is filled with current posts, sometimes several a day, and it has archives that date back to January, beginning with her State of the State address.

DeVos’ blog also includes perspectives from the road, but includes photos from recent campaign stops, a nice addition that Granholm’s blog lacks. However, DeVos’ posts tend to attack the governor more than they give new ideas and thoughts on topics.

Messages received by way of television ads, radio commercials and even live debates can be quickly forgotten; campaign goals with a permalink now have an undefined shelf life and a resource for voters to easily refer back to. Not only are blogs effective for candidates, they’re a less-expensive form of “advertising,” when compared to the cost of purchasing on-air time and printing/mailing direct-mail literature.

Campaign blogs aren’t a new marketing tactic. The 2004 presidential election saw candidates Howard Dean and John Edwards, for example, blogging and finding new support online. A CBS News headline from 2004 sums it up best: “Campaign Blogs Outlive Candidates.”

When it comes time to select your votes for this Tuesday’s election, look online. Perhaps your candidates are already blogging their objectives.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:56 PM
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October 17, 2006

Another strike for Wal-Mart media

Wal-Mart may have coined a new term for Web 2.0, according to Online Media Daily, thanks to their latest PR flop: “flog.”

Just last week, Wal-Marting Across America was pulled after being exposed as a fake blog, or flog. The site detailed the journey of Laura and Jim, two people interested in documenting how Wal-Mart really does help the communities its stores reside in, as well as the residents. In reality, the “journey” was really a PR tactic paid for entirely (food, gas, and even the RV the two traveled in) by Working Families for Wal-Mart, an organization created by the chain’s PR firm, Edelman.

Laura and Jim’s identities were revealed as well: Laura St. Claire is a freelance writer and Jim Thresher is a staff photographer for The Washington Post. The end of the travel blog hasn’t been the end of notoriety for the couple: blogs have been buzzing with a pro-Costco review St. Claire recently published, as well as the ethical debate brought up by Thresher working for another publication.

All that’s left of the blog now are two “goodbye” posts.

I think the biggest problem about this blog was the lack of transparency by the authors and the group backing it. From what I’ve seen, one of the quickest ways to open yourself up for attacks in the blogosphere is to lie about your purpose, and even bigger, lie about who you are. I’m not the only one who feels this way.

At first, many in the blogosphere are surprised at this “goof” by Edelman, especially Shel Holtz, who is even more surprised at the lack of a response from the company.

Those smart PR folks working for Edelman are among the members of the PR community who advocate participation in the conversation. Some of them have been brutal when, to their way of thinking, somebody else fails to understand what it means to be engage in the conversation. So where is Edelman in this particular conversation? Missing in action. As dismaying as this latest misstep is, it’s even more dismaying to see Edelman’s high-powered social media experts failing to walk the talk.

Richard Edelman himself finally responded to the issue on his 6 a.m. blog yesterday.

I want to acknowledge our error in failing to be transparent about the identity of the two bloggers from the outset. This is 100% our responsibility and our error; not the client's.

I’m glad to see Richard address the debate finally and note that his colleagues are working toward maintaining the ethics they helped create for not only WOMMA but their own practices, and to respond to the dozens of comments that have come in on his post.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 04:33 PM
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September 25, 2006

Amanda Congdon meets Jeff Jarvis

Amanda Congdon, former Rocketboom hostess has a new gig: traveling videoblogger.

She's touring the country in a Ford-provided Escape hybrid while meeting bloggers, politicians and environmentalists as part of her new vlog. The five-week project is being sponsored by Environmental Countdown, Ford and the Natural Resources Defense Council.

Congdon recently met up with Buzz Machine's Jeff Jarvis in New Jersey along her Amanda Across America tour.

Congdon spoke with Jarvis about the transition he made from old media to new media, and why some might still be scared to make the switch, whether it's on a personal level or a business level. Take a look at her vlog for the video, both Part 1 and Part 2.

Posted by Alicia Dorset at 05:07 PM
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August 29, 2006

Losing the blogging steam?

While everyone is talking about the soon-to-launch music blog (Idolator) from Gawker, I decided to check in on one of my favorite bloggers.

One of my top books of 2005 was Julie & Julia, a memoir penned by the blogger-turned-print