Yobi.tv :: Proof Positive That Online Viral Marketing Doesn’t Always Work

It especially won’t work if you have a bad product.

I can feel Jen O’Meara’s pain. We likely all can. She has a project she loves and it isn’t going anywhere. Frustration. We’ve all felt it, right?

David Meerman Scott shares A viral marketing story suitable for bedtime. It is a story of disappointment and sadness. But, at least the author, YOBI CIO Jen O’Meara, tries to tell it with a tongue-in-cheek spin.

Jen’s no dummy - you’d think. A Ph.D. under her belt, no less, she’s struggling to get her startup Yobi.tv site off the ground. Yobi.tv claims to be a “unique blend of social networking, reality show contests, and user-generated content (that) will revolutionize the world of online entertainment.” Well, it’s good to have a dream. Read more

Alexandra Wheeler, Starbucks :: Video Interview from Edelman/PRWeek Academic Summit

Alexandra Wheeler, Director of Digital at Starbucks, kindly agreed to an interview at the Edelman/PRWeek New Media Academic Summit in Chicago, a few weeks back.

Starbucks recently launched (March ‘08?) their site - my Starbucks Idea. This BusinessWeek article explains more.  Read more

Another PROpenMic Success :: Maria Garcia and Lindsey George at Converseon

The PROpenMic social network for PR students, faculty and practitioners continues to prove successful.

Paull Young, of Young PR and Converseon emailed me the other day with news. He reminded me of the two people at Converseon that found their way to the firm through social media, and PROpenMic, in particular.  Read more

Rick Murray :: President, Edelman Digital at the New Media Academic Summit ‘08

Rick Murray kindly agreed to an interview at the recent New Media Academic Summit in Chicago.

Rick Murray shares why Edelman Public Relations has taken a leadership role in helping academia better prepare students for the future of public relations.

This conference is an excellent model for others to follow. We need all the help we can get, folks. I appreciate Edelman’s leadership in this area. The Summit, along with their Bootcamps, shows that Edelman is clearly in the lead. I wish more of these types of opportunities were taking place now. We don’t want to have to catch up, do we?

Video from the Edelman/PRWeek New Media Academic Summit held on June 26-27, 2008.

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Keith O’Brien :: Editor-In-Chief, PRWeek Magazine at the New Media Academic Summit ‘08

At the Edelman/PRWeek New Media Academic Summit, I had the pleasure of interviewing Keith O’Brien, Editor-In-Chief of PRWeek.

Keith shares, what I believe to be, a great overview of why PR agencies should seek to work with academia and why experimenting with emerging digital media is so important for both students and educators.

This video is from June 26-27, 2008, in Chicago.

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The Other Side of the Coin is Rusting :: Powerful Video and Opportunity for Comparison and Rhetorical Analysis

Video is a powerful medium.

The YouTube video below started me thinking about a lot of things. My head was spinning. So, I’m just thinking out loud here. My mind is still running over possible lesson plans that may help those academics yet to explore emerging digital media an avenue to embrace it.

This video I’m referring to, you’re going to like it, made me think how interesting it would be to adapt this Comparison and Rhetorical Analysis class assignment to the video below.

What might we add to that assignment? Perhaps a discussion about the growth of internet usage, particularly internet video viewing habits, among tweens, teens and college students would fit - or extend the exploration. Is online video their new venue for activism?

Discuss how broad the use of video has spread in just a short time. From February 2005 until today, YouTube has been followed by numerous other video sharing sites and networks.

With all those video sites, and their enormous traffic, McLuhan’s hammer is now a sledge [medium (video) as an extension (the hammer) of ourselves]. Think of it. With the advent of TubeMogul.com, for instance, the reach of these messages extends to so many sites, so easily. I know, we’re just talking about the time it takes to upload videos. But, that time requirement/constraint is a barrier to entry. One upload via TubeMogul now means you’re posting to over a dozen video sharing sites at once.

Looking at this post from June 2006, Video sharing sites - Alexa rankings « Video on the Web, I began wondering where their rankings are now. A cursory look already shows that more are in the top traffic slots. I’ll investigate those sites (and the new ones) and post it later. (And yes, I know we have to look further than the traffic rankings of Alexa.)

Like I said, my mind is spinning and racing. The Comparison and Rhetorical Analysis is one more way to engage in emerging digital media discussions in class. Compare the reach of video online today to the reach of say movies in their earliest years and TV in its Golden Age? That’s another. After all, the numbers are staggering.

And all of this rather random thinking comes about due to this truly powerful video that involves the juxtaposition of images from the 3rd world and developed countries. Me? I imagine that most people are generally oblivious to the devastation taking place all around us. Sure, we know it is happening. We just don’t think about it. Videos like this one need to keep pinging us upside the head as a reminder that all is not well with our world.

Again, just thinking out loud. Gotta get my head around this. Watch the video. What do you think?

By the way, if one kookaid drunk new media (ack!) guru makes any comment about the term medium, I’ll pound you.

Can Involvement in PROpenMic Lead to a Job? :: Allie Osmar’s Success Story

Shared from my post to the front page of PROpenMic

My goal in starting PROpenMic, the social network for students & faculty, was to provide a resource that would help all of us.

I’m happy to report one particular success story from that site. I’m looking for others, too. So, if you have such a story, please share it in the comments or write to me. See the post and video below. Read more