iaocblog

Live from Reykjavik.

Phil Borremans — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 10:54:50 -0400

2008 WebAward Call for Entries

Bill Rice — Thu, 08 May 2008 14:17:20 -0400

With only a few weeks to go until the entry deadline, we though we would give you our 10 reasons you should enter the Web Marketing Association's 12th annual WebAward Competition for Website development.

10) If you wait until after the May 31st deadline, you'll have to pay a late fee.

9) Your mom would be proud of you.

8) You will receive important benchmark data for your entire industry and where your site ranks in each of the seven judging criteria.

7) Think of the PR opportunities - industry publications, blogs, websites, by-lined articles, podcasts, press releases, interviews - the sky is the limit.

6) A best of industry plaque containing your award winning site will look great in your office.

5) The WebAward logo on your site is like receiving the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" for Web development.

4) Your clients and customers will be impressed at your industry recognition and so will your potential clients.

3) A link to webaward.org will help your site's search engine rankings because you will be linked to an 12-year old .org authoritative site with a high Google PageRank.

2) A Best of Industry award means you're the best and you can prove it!

1) If you don't win, we won't tell anyone - and you still get the feedback.

Recognition and feedback, that is what you will receive when you enter the 2008 WebAward Competition for Website development. Winning accolades in the 2008 WebAwards - the Internet's premier award recognition program, is a great way to stand out from others in your industry. You will also receive valuable feedback from our judges and benchmarks for your industry. But you won't get anything if you don't enter!

The 12th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only a month away, and you can submit your site for review at www.webaward.org. Avoid a late fee by completing your Web site entries before the deadline.

Enter the 2008 WebAwards today and receive the recognition you deserve!

A great whitepaper to supplement the discussion about online newsrooms

Dee Rambeau — Thu, 08 May 2008 00:40:10 -0400

A client of PR Newswire (and of my company as the vendor to PR Newswire) wrote a thesis paper for her MBA in Communications. She happens to be the PR Manager for Varian Medical Systems and has been an active user of our MediaRoom service for three years. Meryl Ginsberg gave us permission to make a pretty whitepaper out of her thesis...born of real, hands-on experience with managing online media relations content for her company.

Here's the link to the whitepaper. Enjoy. http://www.hightech-pr.com/prn/2008_05_01/2008_05_01.html

Papers Announced for Online Communicators 2008 Conference

Don Dunnington — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 20:38:29 -0400

The International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC) has announced the papers to be given at the 2008 International Conference to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, June 12-13, 2008. This year’s papers include an eye-tracking study involving online journalism, issues of the media and ethics when high profile child deaths and disappearances go online, how social media and broadcast meet in radio 2.0, CEO blogging and ghost writers, student-produced online news media, and a look at the impact the virtual office has on commitment the organization.

Presenters this year are from the University of Trier (Trier, Germany), Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, North Carolina), the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida), Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (Pomona, New Jersey), Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) and Rowan University (Glassboro, New Jersey).

There is still time to register for this year’s IAOC Conference, June 12-13, 2008 at the Hotel Holt in Reykjavik, Iceland. Iceland is an ideal meeting ground for those from Europe and North America. Flights are five hours or less from much of North America and about three hours from Europe.

For those from the US, it’s an opportunity to visit a European capital where the dollar still enjoys a favorable exchange rate. For Europeans, the exchange rate is even better. IAOC has a block of rooms reserved at the Hotel Holt, www.holt.is, or contact our travel service at Lina@LTTravel.com. Be sure to ask for the IAOC rate. Registration is $199 for members, $299 for non-members. For more information and online registration visit http://iaoc2008.eventbrite.com.

The following papers will be presented at the Iceland Conference:

Preparing Online Communicators for the Future of Information Systems, by Bill Wolff and Diane Penrod
Using Google Applications for Online Teaching: Competition for Proprietary Educational Software in an Age of Fiscal Constraint by Kevin Lee
Loud Voices, Silenced Voices; The Ethics of Online Content in Media Coverage of High-Profile Child Death and Child Disappearance cases by Kathryn Quigley
User Interaction with Time-dependent Presentation in Online Journalism, Results of an Eye-tracking Study by Peter Schumacher
The CEO as Celebrity and Blogger: Is there a Ghostwriter in the Machine? by Sam Terilli
Issues of Organizational Commitment in the Era of the Virtual Office, by Diane Holtzman and Evonne Kruger
Broadcast Media Meets Social Media; Radio 2.0 and the Future of Broadcasting, by Keith Brand
Online Newsroom by Joseph Basso and Randy Hines
Student-produced news media, how complex have their online efforts become? by Rick Sykes
Old Needs, New Demands: How Online Communication has Re-shaped the Practice of School PR, by Edward H. Moore
Research Methodology for Web 2.0, by Chandrasekhar Vallath
Effective Tactics During a Product Recall: A Case Study of the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall by Melissa Bass
Online Libel and the Court’s attempt to apply First Amendment protection to an emerging medium, by Joseph Basso

Internet PR Chat Series Transcript: Online Newsrooms

David J. Reich — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 12:20:34 -0400

PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~
Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Online Newsrooms
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: April 18, 2008

LAST SESSION
Opening URL: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.mspx

Who uses online newsrooms?
- Journalists to gather information, background and supplemental information
- Company in crisis
- Non-media trying to break through. Customer service inquiries, job applicants
- Investors and analysts
- Attorneys and investigators
- Own employees and investors

What should a newsroom contain?
1. Must contain
      - Contact information
2. Should contain
     - News releases, current
     - High-resolution artwork
     - Searchable news release archive
     - Financial Information, especially for publicly traded companies
     - Management profiles EXAMPLE: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/default.mspx?group=A-D

3. Bells and whistles
    - Newsletters
    - Transcripts of speeches
    - Calendar of events
    - Stand on political issues
    - Roster of employees, directory
   - Broadcast room EXAMPLE: http://br.thenewsmarket.com/Microsoft/br/Login/LoginPreRegistration.aspx
   RESTRICTED ACCESS
       - Contact information OK so emplyees are not spammed
       - Could limit coverage for your business
4. Should not contain
    - Dated material you cannot maintain
    - Message boards

EXAMPLE: http://www.apple.com/pr/
   - Contact information: public
   - News release example: Final Cut Server Shipping
       - No personal contact information on release because of archive issues
   - Images for the media: Airport Express
       - Include format of the artwork including size

ONLINE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS: 2 Strategies
1. DUCK: what crisis, what problem?
   - Pretend it is not there and hope it goes away
     EXAMPLE: http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/prindex.html
   - Archive of news releases
   - Special Web site to deal with media: http://www.swamedia.com
   - Making significant changes on a daily basis
2. STAND TALL: want your side of the story to be told.
   - Pro and con
     EXAMPLE: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.mspx
   - Provide exhaustive information on the topic
   - Document the entire story to get your side of the information out
   - Dark Web site - Emergency Web site that redirects people to the crisis information

Class Podcast:
http://www.authorviews.com/authors/promo/chatsessions/online_newsrooms.wav

Internet PR Chat Series Transcript: Search Engine Optimization

David J. Reich — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 13:12:57 -0400

PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~ CHAT TRANSCRIPT ~
Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Search Engine Optimization
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: April 11, 2008

Opening URL for the day:       http://www.google.com

Search Engine Optimization: The science of trying to get people to come to your site (increase traffic).
Careful, traffic can be a bad thing:
- Expenses rise as traffic increases.
- Unwanted viewers
- hackers
- lawyers

GOOGLE: algorithm - ranking system based on metatags
On Web site look for source code:

Example site: Google search food - pick LA Times
- Title bar tag (keywords) helps Google understand what is on that page

Example: Food News, Recipes & Restaurant Reviews - Los Angeles Times
- Keywords tag (non in this example). No more than 50, separated by commas

Example: meta name="keywords" content="" /
- Description tag. 25 word of what is on your Web site, not what you do.

Example: meta name="description" content="Find food & wine news and reviews on restaurants, recipes, cooking, desserts, chefs, fine dining, cuisine, Los Angeles restaurants, four star restaurants & more." /

What Google looks for to rank:
- tags match content (you will get the Google smack down if you do not represent yourself properly with tags and content. Smack down = moved to the bottom of the search list)
- linkage (how many sites link to your site)
- popularity among searchers (when Google offers options, how many times are you chosen)

Recommendations to optimize your site:
- Follow metatags rules
- Annual search engine optimization check
   - find out where you are in searches
   - update metatags
- Register your Web site with search engines
http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates.html
   - Web site registration list
   http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates/regreport.html
- Linkage campaign (expect 20-25% success rate)
   - Link letter
   http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates/linkreport.htm
   - When asking for linkage ask these questions:
       - Is the site dead or not?
       - Do they have links to other site (links or resources)?
       - Who should I pitch?
Example: Eric Ward article on link letters http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=831971
   -Find a super site (someone that has made it their job to be a resource on the topic)

Here's a link to the sessions podcast:
http://www.authorviews.com/authors/promo/chatsessions/080411.wav

Internet PR Class Focuses on Blog PR and Blog Tours

Steve O'Keefe — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:22:59 -0500

Here's an update on how things are going with the Friday Internet PR Chat Series I've been running through the IAOC, the Patron Saint Productions site, and my Internet PR class at Tulane University. The chat program is live and free every Friday from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time.

We began the series using Skype software as our conferencing interface and have since switched to using FreeConferenceCall.com. The phone number is +1-712-451-6100 Access Code: 596632#. The first half of each hour I lead a lesson (see schedule); the second half is open brainstorming. We still use Skype to pass URLs and documents during the call, so send your Skype name if you want to join that way. We might soon switch from Skype to a different Instant Messenger or Chat software -- I'll post a message here if we do.

The class is an intense experiment in new communications technology. We are test-driving all these different communications interfaces and half of the learning experience is how to fuss with teleconferencing tools to make them work properly and, sometimes, magically.

The schedule was shuffled a bit and this Friday we are covering Blog PR, certainly one of the most important sessions of the class. We'll be looking at building blogs, posting on blogs, commenting on blogs, sucking up to blogmasters, blog touring -- all in a half hour! So don't miss it.

In the meantime, I have asked the students in my Internet PR class to each find an article about Blog Touring and summarize it here as comments on this post. I hope to speak with some of you on Friday. I'll be posting my own article on blogging here sometime after Friday's chat session.

STEVE O'KEEFE

Fun History of IcelandAir, the national airline of Iceland

Dee Rambeau — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 12:19:44 -0500

During the sixties and seventies, the airline became a favorite choice of college students who were making their first trips ...

Iceland-Otherworldly...

Dee Rambeau — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 18:53:24 -0500

HOT? COOL? FIRE? ICE?

So what makes Iceland such a hot destination? Some people say it’s exotic – truly the ...

Iceland's Golden Circle

Dee Rambeau — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:37:09 -0500

No visit to Iceland is complete without an outing to the Golden Circle, available as a day-long escorted motorcoach tour ...

The Blue Lagoon

Dee Rambeau — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 11:38:59 -0500

The Blue Lagoon is Iceland's most recognizable tourist attraction. That fact does not diminish how utterly attractive it is. Last ...

Iceland is the Land of Fire and Ice

Dee Rambeau — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 16:50:19 -0500

Animals Descended from Viking Days

Horses – the smallest in the world – are purebred descendents from the days of ...

Reykjavik

Dee Rambeau — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:42:26 -0500

When 9th century Vikings sailed into this natural harbor, steam rising from its waters appeared to be smoke, and the name Reykjavik ('smoky bay') is now somewhat misleading.

One of the world’s cleanest capitals and virtually pollution-free, Reykjavik is a thoroughly modern city enhanced by picturesque and historic buildings, a city-center lake and even a salmon river, all surrounded by mountains and the sea.

A cosmopolitan array of museums, art galleries, theatre, opera and an excellent symphony orchestra set the cultural scene, while restaurants, cafes, pubs and nightclubs augment the teeming social life that has made it one of the most popular cities in Europe.

Iceland--Nature's Playground

Dee Rambeau — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 11:30:54 -0500

Iceland’s dramatic and violent geological history created its surreal and spectacular landscapes, born of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs and glaciers ...

Dee Rambau Takes Us on an Online Communicator's Tour of Iceland

Don Dunnington — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 14:41:44 -0500

This week Dee Rambeau will be hosting a blog week on Iceland, the location of this year's IAOC Conference. Situated on the continental divide between Europe and America, Iceland is the ideal location for our first American and European Summit Meeting of Online Communicators. Flights to Iceland are five hours or less from North America and about three hours from Europe.

The conference will be held in Reykjavik, the world’s northernmost capital city, June 12-13. The conference starts mid-day Thursday, June 12 at Hotel Holt. IAOC members will present two roundtable paper sessions concerning online communication. Topics include:

"Radio 2.0 and research methodologies for web 2.0"
"The CEO as Celebrity and Blogger: Is there a Ghostwriter in the Machine?"
"Loud Voices, Silenced Voices; The Ethics of Online Content in Media Coverage of High- Profile Child Death and Child Disappearance cases"
"Let's Get Together: Options for Integrating Web 2.0 Collaborative Tools into the Workplace"
"Issues of Organizational Commitment in the Era of the Virtual Office"

Blackline Social Media Consulting will host a complimentary reception following the round-table sessions.

On Friday an additional round table paper presentation will be followed by a European/American panel discussion on International Online Communications using RSS and other social media tools. The panel is chaired by Philippe Borremans, a leading online media consultant located in Brussels, Belgium, and Dee Rambeau, the managing partner of The Fuel Team, an online communications consultancy located in Denver, Colorado. The discussion will include:

How to manage online collaboration on a global scale.
Examples of organizations that are bridging oceans with social media.
Effective multi-language website tactics
Low-cost opt-in content delivery across time zones using RSS
Low-cost content distribution using RSS
Internal crisis communications across times zones

The conference concludes with a keynote luncheon presentation by Peter A. Gloor focusing on swarm creativity, collaborative innovation networks, and coolhunting. Gloor is a Research Scientist at the Center for Collective Intelligence, part of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Sloan School of Management. He was Mercator Visiting Professor at the University of Cologne, and is a lecturer at Helsinki University of Technology.

The registration fee is $199 for members and $299 for non-members. For more information about the conference visit http://iaoc2008.eventbrite.com/.

Join Dee all week for his personal tour of what you can expect to see on your visit to Iceland. You may be surprised at what you learn. Warmed by Gulf Stream currents, Iceland’s temperature is milder than its name suggests. Those attending the IAOC conference in June will have an opportunity to experience long daylight hours of late spring as the island heads toward its endless days of summer and the Midnight Sun.

Welcome Tulane Internet PR Students - Sign In Here

Steve O'Keefe — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 00:05:47 -0500

I've invited the students in the Tulane class I teach in Internet Public Relations to come onto the blog and contribute while class is in session. I hope they'll comment in here to introduce themselves. Part of the class grade is determined by participation: here on the blog, on the Friday Skype chats that start February first, and in class. Some people shine online and we can all learn from them.

The classroom Tulane provides this term has fifteen PC terminals, all running Vista, and a teacher's workstation PC, also on Vista. I can toggle from the workstation to my MacBook running OSX using a dongle (pardon me).

Too late into the class, I asked the students, one by one, to come up and Google themselves on the PC projected on the wall. Interesting way to get to meet people -- and for them to see how they look to folks in the outside world. Every student has a different style of working the web. When you watch them demonstrate, you learn something.

So I hope my students will pipe up in the coming weeks and teach us a thing or two about online PR and we'll try to return the favor.

Steve O'Keefe
Adjunct Professor
Internet Public Relations
Tulane University

Steve O'Keefe Returns with Internet Public Relations Class

Don Dunnington — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 12:59:52 -0500

I'm pleased to report that IAOC is once again hosting Steve O'Keefe's 10-week course in Internet Public Relations. Class starts Friday, February 1, 2008 and continues through Friday, April 18, 2008.

The online class is free and space is limited so pre-registration is required. You may register today by sending an email request to sokeefe <at> tulane <dot> edu. The online class meets every Friday at 12 noon Eastern Time for a one-hour live chat with the instructor.

This semester, Steve is using Skype as the interface for the live portion of the online class. A Skype Public Chat is launched each Friday and registered participants are invited to connect. Skype Public Chat provides both a VOIP audio feed and a text interface for Q&A. For the first half-hour, Steve teaches from the syllabus shown below. The second half hour is a moderated Q&A on both audio and text chat using Skype.

Skype software is available for free download from Skype.com. For those unable or unwilling to install Skype - there are security issues related to using Skype behind firewalls - IAOC will provide a Skype transcript and Q&A opportunities here on the blog each week.

The online course is a much abbreviated version of Steve O'Keefe's Tuesday night class at Tulane University. It's really an optional addition to the class for those wanting clarification of key concepts or help with homework.

Online class members are welcome to do the assignments but there will be no instructor review or commentary beyond the online chats and comments left here on the blog. The full Tulane syllabus, schedule, readings, and assignments are available at the class web site:

http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/tulaneclass.html

INTERNET PUBLIC RELATIONS
Buff Online Class (and it's free!)
Instructor: Steve O'Keefe
Spring Semester 2008, IAOCblog.com
Every Friday 12 Noon Eastern Time
"End Your Week With Strength"

SCHEDULE:
FEB 1 - Campaign Planning & Themes
FEB 8 - Document Production & Syndication
FEB 15 - Video Production & Syndication
FEB 22 - Social Networking PR
FEB 29 - Blog PR
MAR 7 - Web PR
MAR 14 - Discussion Group PR
MAR 21 - SPRING BREAK (No Class)
MAR 28 - News Releases
APR 4 - Contact Management
APR 11 - Search Engine Optimization
APR 18 - Online Newsrooms

Live Skype Public Chat
Friday, 12:00 - 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time
Free of charge. Preregistration required.
Email to sokeefe <at> tulane <dot> edu

Don Dunnington
IAOC President

Register Now for IAOC's 2008 Conference in Reykjavik, Iceland

Don Dunnington — Mon, 03 Dec 2007 17:53:38 -0500

Philippe Borremanns has created a great registration page for IAOC's 2008 conference in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Philippe recommended the Eventbrite service to create a functional registration page for the conference, which accepts payments, has an integrated Google map, and several syndication/promotional tools as well.

Philippe also has some good suggestions for how you can help promote the event:

By email - either write an email yourself and insert the event-page URL ( http://iaoc2008.eventbrite.com) or use the "mail a friend" function on the page itself. (Do not spam)

By adding it to del.icio.us, reddit and Facebook to promote it further. You can also find the story on Digg.

Or use the banners/buttons below on your own website/blog:

Online Event Registration - Powered by www.eventbrite.com

Thanks to Philippe for his efforts to help promote our first "Summit Meeting" in Iceland to bring our American and European members closer. When you come to Iceland you'll have an opportunity to meet Philippe as well as see him moderating a panel discussion. I have also suggested that Philippe help us produce a pre- or post-conference event for those who want to get some web 2.0 training. If there is sufficient interest from members (you can respond here), Philippe says he will teach a hands-on RSS workshop.

Don Dunnington
IAOC President

Advanced Learning Institute to Sponsor IAOC

David J. Reich — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:34:29 -0500

IAOC would like to welcome the Advanced Learning Institute (ALI) and its Social Media for Internal Communications Conference as a sponsor of IAOCblog.com.

The Social Media for Internal Communications Conference covers topics such as blogging, podcasting, new web 2.0 technologies, and how these technologies impact business. The event takes place in San Fransisco, CA on February 4-7, 2008, with an exciting lineup of presenting organizations. To learn more, feel free to check out the conference brochure.

To register for the Social Media for Internal Communications Conference, please fill out this registration form, or contact ALI customer service at 1-888-362-7400, ext 1 -- mention IAOC and get $200 off!!!

In addition, anyone who attends this conference will also receive $50 off IAOC's June 2008 conference in Iceland! More details on the IAOC conference to come.

Blogging Books by Guest Blogger Ted Demopoulos

Ted Demopoulos — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 23:02:41 -0500

At Morty's gentle insistence, since they weren't mentioned earlier during my guest blogging on CEO blogs here, here, here, here and even here.

My books (no drum roll necessary please) are:

Blogging for Business: Everything You Need to Know and Why You Should Care with the inimitable Shel Holtz

What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting, Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere
and my very recent audio and physical book combo thingy:
The Secrets of Successful Blogging System.

And yes, there probably is another book or two in me. Don't hold your breathe though, it might take a few months years a decade
a little while still before I start.

Coming Up on IAOCblog: Books, Reputation Management, and YOU!

Steve O'Keefe — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 08:58:26 -0500

We at IAOCblog would like to wish our readers in the U.S. a Happy Thanksgiving. We are in a membership drive now and we are thankful for your financial support.

Morty Schiller, Don Dunnington, and me, Steve O'Keefe, are working on these upcoming programs for "This Week on IAOCblog.com":

Book Review Week!
Send us your books to review on the blog. I'll be reviewing two textbooks for 2008 classes at Tulane University and George Washington University. Morty's got a couple books he's anxious to blog about. We welcome your book reviews, too.

Online Reputation Management
There's no hotter topic in Online PR than reputation management. We're trying to coax Sally Falkow to come school us on the subject as soon as her schedule allows.

How About You?
Do you have a show idea for "This Week on IAOCblog.com"? We are building our schedule for the Winter 2008 Season which begins in January. Guest bloggers are asked to take the helm for a week and bring a couple of colleagues with you. Contact info is below.

Thanks to Peter Gloor, Lois Kelly, Dave Taylor, Dianna Huff, Shel Horowitz and Ted Demopoulos for making the Fall 2007 Season on IAOCblog.com an outstanding success. Unique visitors to the site averaged 25,000/month this fall while pageviews averaged 100,000/month! Well done!

Send your show suggestions or books for review to:

STEVE O'KEEFE
steve.okeefe at patronsaintpr.com

MORTY SCHILLER
morty at mortyschiller.com

DON DUNNINGTON
DDunnington at ktron.com

Shel's Books--at Morty's request

Shel Horowitz — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:36:23 -0500

Morty wrote,

I'm making an open, transparent and blatant request for you to plug your books... Can you please pick a couple and post the links to buying them?

Well, since you asked so nicely, how could I refuse ?

On the topic of ethics, my most relevant book is Principled Profit: Marketing that Puts People First. I'm extremely proud of this book, which shows how ethics, cooperation (even with competitors), and an attitude of abundance can for a kind of positive perfect storm to create and increase business success. This book won an Apex Award, has been endorsed by 79 entrepreneurs and marketers including Jack Canfield, Anne Holland, and Mark Joyner, and has been republished in India and Mexico.

Also, I have two books in the Grassroots Marketing series: Grassroots Marketing for Authors and Publishers, which is specifically about book marketing, and Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, which provides low-cost high-return marketing strategies (and lots of examples) for any type of business or nonprofit. Both of these books have won some honors and have great endorsements, too.

Thee are various "combination platter" offers and bonuses on my order page, which lists all the products I sell, on frugal, ethical, effective marketing, and also on frugal fun.

Bias Disclosure, Objectivity, and Other Goodies

Shel Horowitz — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:20:23 -0500

For my final turn at bat, I thought I'd look at the first section of the Code of Ethics: Be Honest and Fair.

These are three of the bullets:

• Never publish information they know is inaccurate -- and if publishing questionable information, make it clear it's in doubt.
• Distinguish between advocacy, commentary and factual information. Even advocacy writing and commentary should not misrepresent fact or context.
• Distinguish factual information and commentary from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.

In short, it's a blogger's obligation--or at least a blogger who subscribes to this Code of Ethics--to make it clear what you're talking about,whether you have a vested interest, and whether you're making assertions or citing facts.

Sounds like basic common sense, yes? But keep in mind that the concept of objective journalism is relatively new; in the Civil War era, newspapers unabashedly had an opinion and weren't afraid to show it--much like many bloggers today.

More of an issue to me is that we've had a number of instances of severely biased journalists not disclosing that they wee on the payroll of some organization. And of course, we have one-sided coverage on the part of (just to cite one example) Fox News that pretends to be objective but in reality is anything but "fair and balanced." I rather prefer the 19th century newspapers, often named after a political party, where you didn't have to figure out where they stand.

I am not sure there actually is such a thing as "objective journalism." Every article or broadcast has a point of view, and any story can be told a dozen or a hundred ways. The question to me is whether the biases are identified.

Well, it's been fun. Thanks for reading here, and for making comments. I'd love to see more comments on my own blog. Come join the party. I'm about to make a post about Iraq--and my bias will be clear in the post.

Digg Dirt: Shameless Plug

Ron Sansone — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 10:28:26 -0500

After a whole bunch of hype and hoopla, the Ad News write-up of the Digg Dirt study can be found here.

Self-Policing, Regulation, and the Bloggers' Code of Ethics

Shel Horowitz — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 16:28:14 -0500

We're talking about the Bloggers' Code of Ethics this week, but I'd like to
explore a tangent today.

We bloggers, at least those working in the U.S., have the luxury of writing anything we feel like. Other than those who are employed by some corporate or nonprofit entity and blog as part of their jobs, we have no one looking over our shoulder and saying "you can't do that."

Today I had a long phone call with a client in a particular slice of the financial services industry. I had sent her a draft press release, and one of her concerns was that she was not allowed to use the word "investment."

And last month, I was speaking at a national convention, and the man who hired me told the audience that some of his motivation for bringing me to speak about ethics was his concern that if his industry didn't self-police, they would face government regulation that would sharply limit their actions and their income.

Then, of course, there's Sarbanes-Oxley, the U.S. law that requires corporations to meet some basic, minimal ethical standards--and process a huge amount of paperwork.

Seems to me, we as bloggers should abide by the Code of Ethics (and perhaps sign the Business Ethics Pledge) out of self-interest as well as out of common human decency.

Code of Ethics, Part 2: Do No Harm

Shel Horowitz — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:11:29 -0500

Five bullets in the Blogger's Code of Ethics address the concept of minimizing harm.

Here are two of them:

• Show compassion for those who may be affected adversely by Weblog content. Use special sensitivity when dealing with children and inexperienced sources or subjects.
• Be sensitive when seeking or using interviews or photographs of those affected by tragedy or grief.

Once again, I think it's not only bloggers who need to follow these guidelines; mainstream journalists, and especially TV crews, can be unbelievably insensitive. Some poor soul is grieving over a sudden unexpected tragedy, and the idiot reporter is shoving a microphone down the victim's throat and asking often very stupid questions.

With blogging, one of the issues that comes up under the do-no-harm guideline is the tendency of some bloggers to print opinion as if it's fact, or to republish accusations without either checking their veracity or making clear that you're repeating an unsubstantiated opinion.

Journalism in general, whether people's-journalism such as blogging or mainstream commentary, tends toward a presumption of guilt until proven innocent--the opposite of American criminal law. I confess I've fallen into that trap every now and then.

And journalists' words can wreck a business a relationship, even a life. One of the reasons I do features and opinion instead of hard news is that it decreases the likelihood that I will hurt an innocent person. But it doesn't eliminate it, especially since I frequently write about business ethics scandals.

In my own blog, I'm going to make an effort to consider the effects of my words. What about you?

Bloggers' Code of Ethics: A Starting Point

Shel Horowitz — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:34:36 -0500

For me, one of the key points to consider in a discussion of ethics and blogging is pretty far down their list: * Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, activities and personal agendas

Beyond Buzz or Something To Talk About

Lois Kelly — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:55:22 -0500

Thanks for letting me plug the book, Morty. Here's a link for Beyond Buzz.

I had wanted the title to be "Something to Talk About," because the book provides so many examples and pragmatic ways for finding interesting ideas that get people engaged and talking. While companies "get" Web 2.0 techniques, many, many struggle with finding ideas worth talking about -- especially the type of ideas that make meaning and not superficial buzz.

Alas, the editor overruled me -- and even used the "B" word I so hate.

Lois

Digg Dirt: Did It Die?

Ron Sansone — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:02:24 -0500

To answer any outstanding questions, no, I was not "rubbed out" by a militant wing of the Ron Paul army. In fact, last summer's Digg Dirt series opened up a lot of new opportunities for me.

Learning from five-year-olds and dinner parties

Lois Kelly — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 08:17:33 -0500

Two final thoughts as I wrap up my guest blog gig. Understanding the five-year-old mind and acting like a ...