TechCrunch Squirrels Have Blogasm Counting Tweets

More ranting. Step back so no one gets hurt. I realize that this is useless for those at TechCrunch. They won’t listen. They’re confident they know everything. But, it is at the very least therapeutic for me. I’ll also be able to use this as just one more case study example of the cluelessness my students should avoid in sites like TechCrunch.

Does anyone else get really turned off by these lame attempts of people trying so desperately to assign rankings of authority to all things blog, Twitter, etc.? I do. And, I’m fed up.

First, let’s consider the term authority, please.

An authority is “a person or body of persons in whom authority is vested” and/or the authority is an “accepted source of information, advice, etc.” (Source, and isn’t it sad that we have to share a definition for something like this?)

Techorati has been touting authority in their indexing of sites for some time. They still put the image in their results. You have to click the lil’ “?” to see that it is only Technorati’s version of authority. Translation? They need to have a good word to try and make their results look legitimate - even when they are not legitimate. And Technorati’s claims of legitimate authority is ridiculous.

At least they have now decided to label it “Technorati Authority” in their definition, but they don’t use the “Technorati Authority” label throughout their site. This makes Technorati continue to be a laughing stock with regard to rankings and research.

What’s the problem with these uses of the term authority? Technorati, for instance, does not actually vet the sites and links they are using to assign these labels of authority and ranking. Gee, come to think of it … even Google doesn’t vet incoming links/clicks either. Hmmm? They are, quite simply, just counting things. Is counting enough? No. “In counting tests, an African Grey Parrot, Magpies, Ravens, and squirrels can ‘count’ up to 6.” (Source) Maybe the parrots, magpies, ravens, and squirrels are running some of these sites.

Yes, I’m sorry to tell you this but … squirrels are in charge of TechCrunch. Meet the co-editor squirrel at TechCrunch. Squirrel #2 put paws to keyboard and tapped out this little gem: It’s Not How Many Followers You Have That Counts, It’s How Many Times You Get Retweeted.

Squirrel boy is all excited. I think he had a blogasm. Seriously.

blogasm
[blawg az-uhm] –noun

the physical and emotional sensation experienced at the peak of blog comment excitation, usually resulting from stimulation of the social media link-bait blego (blog ego) and usually accompanied by (mostly males) commenting, tweeting and blogging with idiotic glee. Synonym: ignorance (is bliss)

Some people have created a few little toys that count things. Woo Hoo!. This has sent squirrel boy (and his friends; the parrots, magpies and ravens) into an apoplectic frenzy of sycophant reach-around joy. See Full Metal Jacket, if you’re not familiar with the phrase.

You see, they’ve found a new link bait post topic that will likely carry them through a few days of the startup downturn and holiday “we can’t find any real news” vacuum that exists today.

What these tools are doing (yes, the scripts & the people) is counting what is sort of an exponential shell game. Certainly the Twitter users with the most followers have a greater potential to be retweeted. That doesn’t mean they are influential. It doesn’t mean they are writing interesting content, either.

Has anyone followed back to see who the retweeters are? Has anyone followed back to see if the retweeters are making fun of the post? These are just a few of the possibilities. You see, the most influential and/or interesting retweets might well be taking place between a group of just three or four people. Has anyone looked into that? No. So, we now have just the simplest examples of why these simple counting scripts are pretty much worthless as a research tool.

One person is making some ridiculous claims with his lil’ toy, too.

My comment, which I chose to post here instead, is as follows:

Well, it is an interesting script that counts stuff. However, it really has very little meaning, now does it. In research, we tend to compare similar variables. When you write, “They are the once (sic) producing most interesting content across the twittersphere” you’re stating a falsehood. No, they are (at best) posting content of interest to their audience. That’s all. You have not vetted the content in each retweet instance. Therefore, you don’t know if they are making fun of the person or retweeting it because it is interesting or any number of other possibilities. You are, quite simply, counting RT. That’s it. This is nothing more than an exponential shell game and/or fetish with assigning ranks.

We won’t waste time by discussing independent, status and/or dependent variables here. The squirrels may be able to count, but they sure won’t understand the concepts behind research.

Folks, when you see people all excited about their new abacus (that’s a compliment, by the way … these guys probably couldn’t work an abacus) run the other way. They are clueless. It is more TechCrunch self-absorbed nonsense.

Would a more powerful and useful version of search for Twitter be welcomed? Yes. Do these new tools do that? No.

Yes, I realize this is perhaps the beginning of development of useful tools. But, don’t get all hyped up with terms like authority and rank when your current toys don’t accomplish the feat. Please, stop the insanity. I beg you.

Fake University Facebook Groups :: Marketers Further Dirty the Waters

I found a very interesting series of posts, thanks to Facebookgate from Andrew Carreaga.

Andrew writes about a very interesting sort of scandal uncovered in the post - There’s something going down on Facebook. Pay attention. by Brad J. Ward. That post actually led to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education: Company Created Official-Looking ‘Class of 2013’ Facebook Groups for Hundreds of Colleges.

It is all about fake Facebook groups like Auburn Class of 2013 and many other Class of 2013 groups. Look at this Google Document / spreadsheet that shows over 400 such fake groups. That may not be a complete list, too. Something to consider. There could be more!

These marketers, seemingly immature and unfamiliar with best practices, are preying upon students seeking to decide upon their college of choice. It may seem innocuous to some, but this is really a bad precedent for all social network marketing practice.

Marketers, hiding their identity, are using the groups for marketing research. One would guess this will lead to pushing sales information to the members. And, those members are likely unaware of what they are getting into.

How sad that marketers just cannot seem to clue in.

I joined and posted in the group for Auburn:

I just posted three links with stories about this group and hundreds of others with “Class of 2013″ in their title. They trace back to the same companies … marketing companies. These are not groups that are interested in attending any of these schools. Instead, they are marketers trying to obtain research. That research could lead to them friending you and perhaps sending you information in the future. The information they could send to you might well be spam. They are in the business of selling. I hope this post and the three links will remain. People joining a group should be allowed to have information that allows them know the true intention of the group.

I later added links to real Auburn people that are happy to help students considering attending Auburn.

By the way, there really are good Auburn people on Facebook willing to help you with questions. Friend them. If you want to find true Auburn people, search for “Auburn - Admissions” on Facebook … or use this link to see the search: http://is.gd/cGIX You’ll find 80+ people truly interested in helping you.

The same will likely be true for other schools. Just trying to keep the marketers honest and giving you the real links to trustworthy information.

I did this on my own, of course. I’m not involved with Admissions. But, it seemed like there should be some information in the group that (a) warns the members of the true intentions of the group’s creator and (b) shares links to real Auburn people that are willing to help the potential students.

I am considering posting the following to the forums within the group.

A person claiming to be Justin Gaither, the creator of this group, posted his explanation here: http://is.gd/cs4C

He is “in charge of marketing for Match U.” Match U has no connection to any of these schools.

In response to a controversy about false intentions of this and other groups for marketing’s sake, Jason admits that “Any use of fake accounts is being vacated.”

So, there were fake accounts here and/or elsewhere, Justin?

The full story is at Brad Ward’s blog, SquarePeg.

I add this new topic in hopes of discovering if the members of this group realize that it was created as much for a 3rd party marketer to gain research information (your names & contact information) as much as, if not moreso, the sake of sharing information about colleges you might be interested in attending.

This group does not comply with the ethics policy of the Word of Mouth Marketing Association. http://womma.org/ethics/ and http://womma.org/ethics/code/

That code requires that marketers, like Justin, follow these simple principles:

Honesty of Relationship: You say who you’re speaking for
Honesty of Opinion: You say what you believe
Honesty of Identity: You never obscure your identity

If you friend Justin, you’ll see that he does not identify himself as a marketer, nor does he identify his relationship to Match U.

He has violated those two principles of the code of ethics. He has not posted to the group, so I cannot tell you if he is writing what he believes. However, as a graduate of Miami, he is not likely interested in being a member of the Class of 2013. He is likely interested in gaining your contact information or anything else that will help him develop a large network of contacts for future marketing campaigns.

Is this really what Facebook is all about? Would you have joined this group had you known his true relationships and marketing purposes?

I’m thinking the answer to both questions is no.

In my opinion, Justin has two choices. Close all the groups or go into each and fully disclose his purpose for creating the groups. To not do this is to condone unethical practice.

I will note that I have my own problems with WOMMA and their practices, but the three principles stated above are still a sound basis for honest marketing.

I’m thinking that too many marketers still don’t get it and I also worry that many schools are not protecting their brand by failing to monitor Facebook and other social networks.

In response to Andrew’s post, I commented:

Interesting post, as always, Andrew.

I posted the three links to posts in the Auburn group they created - your post, Brad’s and the one from The Chronicle. I also wrote on the wall suggesting that they leave the posts so members may learn about the true intentions of the creators.

It will be interesting to see if they last. I even friended the creator, Justin Gaither.

Monitoring is the key. I fear that still, with all the attention, many PR people are not paying attention to what’s being said about their schools, organizations and businesses online.

This will be a great case study for classes in January.

I will use this as a case study for students. In fact, we’re likely going to go out in search of other such attempts to capitalize on unsuspecting potential students.

When (Fans Hope) A Southern University Will Do The Right Thing :: And They Don’t

I’ve been following this story from the beginning. I saw this coming. I hoped it would not happen, but given the timing of certain events, and my knowledge and/or perceptions of Auburn culture, I’m not surprised it has happened. I wish this had not happened. But, here it is. This is, for all practical purposes, the perfect storm - in a PR sense. All the elements of the environment were just right for all that follows to have happened. Why the leadership didn’t see it coming, who knows.

Yesterday.

Charles Barkley states on ESPN that race was the number one reason why Auburn did not hire a black head football coach. See the video below.

Today.

Mark Schlabach states on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” program:

ESPN.com football writer Mark Schlabach told “Outside The Lines” today that two other SEC coaches told him, straight up, that Gill would never get the Auburn job, because he’s married to a white woman. Charming. (Source and see the video below)

Sure, I didn’t know exactly what would happen (Charles Barkley’s statements or Mark Schlabach’s interview), but I knew there would be a backlash by someone if the hire didn’t happen. I never imagined the full scope of the disaster we’re experiencing now, however.

Regardless of whether or not you believe Tommy Tuberville was fired or chose to resign, that happened at the same time that a heretofore unknown coach at the University of Buffalo was making a big splash. Turner Gill took a cellar dweller of a football team and beat the undefeated Ball State program to win the MAC conference title. It was the dream public relations move, if nothing else. It was the way for Auburn to step up and cross the race barrier, too. But, to make it better, on paper - Gill actually does look as good as (if not better than) the coach we’ve now hired. Opinions vary on that, of course.

Since Mississippi State broke the color barrier for black coaches in the SEC (and no big name coaches were interested in coming to Auburn) this made the situation ripe for Auburn to make a bold move. Hire Turner Gill as our next head football coach.

Since Auburn did not do what some call “the right thing”, we are now experiencing the following public relations disaster. Check it all out. There is a lot to digest. Never before, not even in Auburn’s Eric Ramsey or Petrino/Jet-gate scandals, has Auburn’s name been so fully dragged through the mud.

The sad thing is, this is really about the athletic department, but it actually has caused numerous references to the school at-large.

My questions, “What would you do? How can Auburn successfully deal with this fiasco? Or can they?”

Track the fallout yourself: Twitter | Web | News | Blogs

Just a sampling of two stories: Auburn was cool with Turner Gill being black, but not his wife being white. | Was Turner Gill Denied The Auburn Job Because Of His White Wife? Those two sites alone are perfect examples of how social media has changed the game for everyone. The first site has about 3,000 average readers. The second site, Deadspin? It is one of the top 4,000 sites on the Web. It has over 360,000 average readers. Oh, and of course - there is ESPN - the TV network and their site … the 16th most popular site on the Web. Social media spreads the story with more reach than traditional media in many instances. This is one of them.

The original story follows these two three updates:

Note: ESPN is covering this so much, for two days they’ve had an Auburn category tab on the front page of the College Football section.

Charles Barkley
ESPN’s “Pardon The Interruption“

Barkley Elaborates on his claims against Auburn

It Gets Worse
ESPN’s “Outside the Lines“

“Turner Gill will never get that job”
When asked why, the coaches responded,
“He’s married to a white woman.”

Mark Schlabach stated on ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” that two SEC coaches told him Turner Gill would not get the Auburn head coaching job because “He is married to a white woman.” (Quote comes at about 3:16 in the video below.)

This is the type of public relations fiasco that no one wants to have happen. How can Auburn address these issues? What should the NCAA do? What would you do if you were advising Auburn University on a PR plan for this crisis?

Auburn Choses Gene Chizik over Turner Gill
Southern University Misses Opportunity
Deals with Backlash

Earlier, we shared how Auburn University was pursuing a new football coach. The story bode well for Auburn, had they chosen Turner Gill. Instead, they went with Gene Chizik. The backlash started on the day of the announcment. Today, it got bumped up a notch.

Charles Barkley, former Auburn basketball great - and outspoken gadlfy, told ESPN today that “You can say it’s not about race, but you can’t compare the two resumes and say [Chizik] deserved the job. Out of all the coaches they interviewed, Chizik probably had the worst resume.” (Watch Video)

There are some (perhaps many) that feel Auburn missed an opportunity and, by not hiring Gill, set themselves up for this criticism.

Auburn has chosen to not respond to this criticism - so far. Making matters worse, two coaches wives’ actually called into a local radio talk show with their opinions about how Auburn handled the firing (resignation) of 10 year coach Tommy Tubberville.

Listen to Amy & Donna’s calls on Eagle 93.9 Sports Call radio program.

Auburn Coaches’ Wives Audio

The school says that Tuberville resigned, yet they choose to still pay his 5 million dollar plus buyout. Many observers suggest that you don’t pay a buyout if someone chooses to quit.

To Chizik’s credit, he’s not responsible for the firing/resignation - or for the hire. He just took the job. Still, Chizik’s record (5-19) as a head coach is questionable. Gill turned around a perennial cellar dweller, Buffalo, and took them to a MAC conference title.

What do you think about this public relations problem, given Barkley’s public comments? Post your thoughts below.

Auburn Pursues Turner Gill
University of Buffalo Coach Sought by Auburn Tigers

Auburn University, one of the traditional powers in NCAA college football, is pursuing a new coach. Auburn is often considered one of the top 25 college coaching jobs. So, what makes this news?

Race. Ethnicity. PR.

Auburn is also the land grant institution for the State of Alabama. Land grant colleges were created, in part, to provide education for minorities - primarily blacks. (Source)

According to Auburn, the university’s Fall 2008 black / african-american enrollment is 1,642 students. Given that the school’s caucasian / white enrollment is 17,225, black students represent 0.087 of that enrollment, less than nine percent. (Source) The total caucasian & african-american enrollment for Fall 2008 at Auburn is 18,867. This is in a state where over 26% of the population is black / african-american. (Source)

Mississippi State won the honor of breaking the diversity / race barrier by hiring Sylvester Croom, five years ago. Croom recently resigned. There are some, perhaps many, that wish Auburn had been the leader in this regard.

The number of black coaches in the major NCAA programs is still lacking. The number dropped from six to three this year.

Already, two Facebook groups have sprung up calling on Auburn to hire Turner Gill. See Turner Gill for the Auburn Tigers Head Football Coach and Turner Gill to Auburn

An Auburn favorite son, Robert Gibbs, helped send Barack Obama to The White House this year. (Note: Gibbs grew up in Auburn. His parents worked in the Auburn University Library for over two decades. Robert chose to attend school at NC State. Still, he holds a fondness for Auburn and has spoken about Auburn many times on national television.)

Another Auburn favorite son, Charles Barkley recently said Auburn should hire Turner Gill. Perhaps Barkley can do for Gill what Gibbs did for Obama.

Gill is reportedly meeting with Auburn today. Read Gill’s appeal heating up, Auburn is latest to come calling.

There are many people in sports forums expressing concerns about taking a chance on such an unproven coach.

It will be interesting to see if Auburn will do the right thing and hire Turner Gill.

Auburn Student and Alumni Network :: WarEagle.me

Campaigns students worked very hard this summer.  They created a social network and pitched it to the faculty of the Department of Communication & Journalism, Auburn University.

Alana Wells, Sherry Namburi, Miles Duncan, Brett Pohlman, Lindsay McCormick and Whitney West were all members of the PR Campaigns class, Summer 2008. This site is their creation. Search for their resumes at PRProspects.com and hire them. ;o)

The mission?  Bring together students and alumni in an online community.

It launched last week.  In less than a week, members have looked at 2,673 pages on the site.  That’s 11.67 pageviews per visitor.  Members spend, on average, 9:49 on the site per visit.  We’re in the early stages of inviting members.  We have 141 signed up, as of Monday evening (six days into the site’s life).

I can’t let you in, as we’ve made this a totally private site.  I can, however, share a look at a screenshot. (Sorry, big file. 800kb)

Colleges and universities have their own alumni departments & programs, to be sure.  But, when you want to bring your niche group together in their sites, it isn’t always possible.  This site will help us connect with our best resources: alumni and students.

We aren’t trying to replace Alumni’s efforts, or thwart them, but we needed a way to engage your students and alumni directly.  I actually believe that our efforts will supplement Alumni’s work.  We can keep our alumni more engaged with the department.  That way, when Alumni contacts them … they still have a relationship with the university.  Cool idea, huh?

More universities should consider this.  Why not?  You have a built in workforce … students.  They can run the site and keep it active.  The site could even be worked in a course’s activities and exercise requirements.  If not that way, you could use your in-house ambassadors (if you have them) or the PRCA / PRSSA chapter could run it.  Hey, it’s good experience for the students.

The Department of Communication & Journalism at Auburn University is often the largest department on campus.  We’ve often had over 1,000 students.  And, in case you’re wondering, our PR program has a higher minimum GPA (than most any program on campus) to even be considered for enrollment.

We want to keep in touch with our alumni.  They are successful and so valuable to our current students.

I see this site as sort of a mini-PROpenMic.  It is a a Ning.com Web site.  Our site is, I believe, more dynamic than any other department social network I’ve heard of at any university.  But, I’m not familiar with all.  Surely, there must be more out there.  Does your program have such a site?

I believe these sites are the wave of the future for college and university programs that wish to keep in touch with their students in a way previously impossible for most departments to launch.  Ning makes that possible.  (Yes, I’m a big fan of Ning.com.)

Students will actually run the site.  Each semester, classes will be responsible for creating the content published on a weekly basis.  From videos to interviews with students & alumni, we will be able to keep the site fresh.

Ning’s various features help us keep the site rich with content, too.  Events and music players allow us to share podcasts and post upcoming events around the area, not just department events.  Groups allow us to share job and internship listings.  Alumni may contribute content, too.

Finally, the key to this type of site being successful is to have faculty buy-in.  That commitment of time assures that students will hear from the faculty.  Communication becomes open and more frequent.  Sure, I’ve heard some faculty (not necessarily at Auburn, either) say that they really don’t want more communication.  So, I’m happy that Auburn’s PR faculty bought into the project.

Other potential pitfalls?  The site will allow students to share their ‘issues’ with the program.  Well, OK.  Hey, if they aren’t complaining here … you can be sure they’re complaining somewhere.  Why not be aware of their feelings and opinions?  I don’t get those that want to avoid student input.  Sure, I understand why they feel that way, but the rationale just doesn’t sit well.

OK, that’s our new student network.  Your thoughts?  I was wary of posting about this, but the students worked hard on it.  We may have some people attempt to sign up (that dont’ belong) but I’ll just have to deal with that.  If nothing else, I love the domain name.  Thanks to Barbara Nixon (on Twitter) for letting me bounce ideas off her, too.  :o)

Students: The Council of PR Firms asks, “What is the most dangerous idea in PR today?”

Cross-posted from PROpenMic.

Reformed PR practitioner B. L. Ochman writes a review of the recent Council of PR firms (CPR) critical issues forum in her blog, What’s Next.

Read the Council’s take on the event in Dangers Equal Opportunity for Smart Marketers, PR Firms, Lively Annual Public Relations Council Critical Issues Forum Addresses “Most Dangerous Ideas” for Future of PR.

The conversation has actually already become an old one. The paradigm shift caused by the advent of social media software (both free open source and paid platforms) has given voice to the masses in a way never seen before. Word of mouth (WOM) is now digital and spreads like wildfire, or creeps along where no one can see it - then achieves a Groundswell of reach people in PR only dreamed of just 10 years ago.  Read more

American Rhetoric :: Goodness Knows, We’ve Seen a Lot of it Lately :: November 4th Can’t Come Fast Enough

Yesterday’s announcement by Colin Powell got me thinking about rhetoric in America. Certainly, we’ve seen a great deal during this presidential election.

I chose to write about Powell’s announcement because I think this is such a crucial election. It is rare that I choose to write about personal thoughts, especially political thoughts, in this blog. I hope you’ll at least humor me. If we disagree, let’s at least do it politely. I’m not one for political bickering.

My post, The Well Reasoned Clear Thoughts of Colin Powell, puts a little history behind the whole story. Tom Brokaw even brought up Powell’s history on Meet the Press. A full recording is available on iTunes, by the way. You can watch it on your computer. You don’t need an iPod.

After pondering yesterday’s Meet the Press, I began to think of the two videos to your right. Powell’s 2003 speech to the U.N. and Adlai Stevenson’s appearance before the U.N. in 1962. There we have two great examples of rhetoric and its impact on the world.

In turn, this also made me think about how little attention we give rhetoric in school today. Oh, sure, we offer some great speech courses. But, I fear students don’t pay enough attention to the great wealth of resources online dealing with rhetoric. That’s why I’m sharing this post.

One of my favorite sites is American Rhetoric, “Rationalize rhetoric and it speaks to your mind; personify her and she speaks to your soul.” This is one of the greatest collections of terrific speeches you’ll find anywhere.

From their Top 100 Speeches of the 20th century to the greatest movies speeches, you’ll find it all at American Rhetoric. A treasure of great speeches. They break down their database in many sections. Examples are:

• Top 100 speeches by decade
• Top 100 speeches by women
• the American Rhetoric speech data bank

If you’re really into this, consider reading Vital Speeches of the Day. It is available in all good libraries. I subscribed to this years ago. I’d do it again, if I had the money. Love that periodical. Funny, I’m sure to some, but I like reading them. The speeches given around the world really do go so far in shaping public policy and we likely don’t pay enough attention to them.

The speech below is a dramatization from one of my favorite books, All The Kings Men. If you haven’t read it, you’ve missed a life changing event. Seriously, it is considered by many to be one of the great American novels. For me, it ranks right up there with Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. You really need to read them both. Each is filled with great rhetorical examples. Don’t forget Inherit The Wind, too.

Broderick Crawford as Willie Stark. American Rhetoric

Find more videos like this on PROpenMic

Don’t guess we’ll see this kind of rhetoric, even in drama, again. We certainly won’t see it from Obama, McCain, Palin or Biden. ;o)

So, what do you say. Let’s spend a little time appreciating great rhetoric. More importantly, let’s pay attention to what people are saying around the world. Also, as in the example of Powell above, let’s pay to all they’ve said over time. Getting the full true picture is always the best practice.

Associated Press :: Will it survive and what alternatives are already in the works

UPDATE: Editor & Publisher reports Tribune Co. (9 newspapers) to drop the Associated Press.

This is, as E&P headlines it, a shocker. “Shocker: Tribune Co. Gives Notice To Drop AP”

NEW YORK Tribune Company has given a two-year notice to the Associated Press that its daily newspapers plan to drop the news service, becoming the first major newspaper chain to do so since the recent controversy over new rates began.

Tribune, which owns nine daily papers including the Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune, joins a growing list of newspapers that have sought to end AP contracts, or given notice of that, following plans to introduce a new controversial rate structure in 2009. The notice was given earlier this week.

Two of the largest - and best - newspapers in America are dropping the Associated Press. This makes me even more concerned for the venerable institution.

Also read Rick Edmonds’ Poynter Biz Blog for his story, “What Would Happen if Newspapers Divorce AP.”

To me, that suggests plenty more friction ahead with editors as AP redirects resources to lucrative lines of business and other clients that are doing better than the newspapers that own AP.

Just thinking out loud here…

The Associated Press (AP) is a revered institution with many years of worthy service to journalism and the people for 160 years. (Source)

That said, the AP is experiencing problems much like all other traditional media. A myriad of information sources has diluted the AP’s strong hold on reporting the news. It is this emerging digital media stream of information that threatens the future (even survival) of newspapers and the Associated Press, among others.

Some papers are even dropping AP due to their recent rate hikes. Editor & Publisher reports Idaho Falls Paper Drops AP — Blames New Rates and Four More Newspapers Intend To Drop AP Over Rates

… The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash, which is trying to cut ties without the required two-year notice. (and) … Other dailies that have already given notice to AP are The Bakersfield Californian and The Yakima Herald-Republic and Wenatchee World, both of Washington. They joined The Post Register of Idaho Falls, which informed AP of plans to drop the service last week.

See related stories: Cancellation notices and disagreements weight on AP, Star Tribune submits cancellation notice to AP, and US regionals turn away from AP to focus on local reporting.

The competing news sources are so many, it is impossible to cover them all here. But, some examples show how even the journalists themselves are reaching out and using social media to drive their reporting.

Twitter, for example, has been credited with being a breaking news source. Reports of earthquakes have shown up in Twitter hours before making it to TV. In our recent Journalist Tweet exercise, we found over 4,000 journalists using the service to, among other things, find leads for stories.

Digg and Slashdot, among many other sites, have also proven to be breaking news sources, too. Open source (free) software allow individuals and organizations to create such sites, too. Pligg, for instance, allows you to create a “Digg-like” site. Inexpensive, even free, software platforms allow you to create niche communities, such as our success with Ning.com and the creation of PROpenMic.

Niche search engines have helped to spread this news. Niche communities are now popping up to share news.

LiberateNews.com and SocialMedian.com are just two of the many efforts begun to fill these niche citizen journalist desires.

Newspapers continue to launch their own blog communities. The Montgomery Advertiser recently adopted blogs and I experimented with their site this summer.

So, what does this all mean for PR?

Great opportunities. But, even more important, a need for best practice and proper practice.

As all of these networks spring up, we can go in and share news about our interests. But, we must - and I mean MUST - do it in a transparent and honorable manner.

Rocky Mountain News uses Twitter to cover a funeral

New technology and its use in journalism and public relations has long been an interest of mine. The reality is, not all technology can be used in every situation.

The recent editorial by John Temple, Editor and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News, is a perfect example of taking experiments with emerging digital media one step too far.

Rocky Mountain News reporter Berny Morson was sent on assignment to cover the funeral of Marten Kudlis, age 3. Kudlis was killed last week at an ice cream shop when a traffic accident sent a vehicle into the shop killing the young man and two other women involved in the crash. Morson was to cover the funeral using Twitter. That link will take you to his account to read his posts. Judge for yourself if you think they come off as crass and insensitive, as some have claimed. Read more

PR News 15 to Watch :: Margie Maddux Newman, Auburn ‘02

Nothing makes you happier than seeing a student and/or alum succeed. Seeing this news brought such a smile to my face.

Congratulations to Margie Maddux Newman, Principal with Hall Strategies in Nashville, TN. Margie has been selected for the PR News Top 15 to Watch list.

The Top 15 to Watch List covers “PR News’ Annual 15 to Watch competition. This program, honoring 15 budding PR leaders and creative practitioners, is open to PR professionals age 30 and under. Nominees must be a practicing communications professional at any of the following: a corporation, PR firm, nonprofit/ association, educational institution, government organization or industry supplier. Nominees may reside anywhere in the world.”

A 2002 cum laude Auburn graduate, Margie is quite remarkable, IMO.

After leaving Auburn, Margie winds up in the Office of the Governor of Tennessee working for Governor Phil Bredesen. During that time she handled many duties. The Assistant to the Governor for Communications, Margie “facilitated event planning for speaking engagements and public appearances, created and coordinated statewide radio station outreach and technology, and founded, organized and directed Governor’s Internship Program.”

Margie announced the great news in her blog, Flack Rabbit. Love that name. ;o)

I remember Margie for a lot of reasons. She was (is) smart. She was curious and diligent. But, this one thing sticks out after she left Auburn. I remember getting a phone call and chatting with Margie about a project she wanted to undertake.

The project involved doing something we had covered in class. Margie was to create a statewide radio PSA campaign. She took what we did in class and turned it into a terrific series of radio PSAs that she created on her laptop computer. :o) That one has always stuck with me. She’s a go-getter. She’s also won awards for her newsletters. Pretty cool, huh.

Please go say congrats to Margie!

Some links: Margie’s Web site, Flack Rabbit and on Twitter, she’s @MargieNewman.

Auburn loves you, Margie. Congratulations!

Clever Video Comic Book Promotion :: Johnny Bunko

Kevin Dugan, of the Strategic Public Relations blog, recently shared the following videos via FriendFeed, a social network sharing tool. (Students, check out FriendFeed.)

Both are good examples of video used in creative and compelling ways. Read more

Digital Portfolios :: Some basics about how we do, what we do, with digital portfolios and resumes

Email provided two requests for information about how we create our digital portfolios in class activities. So, I thought I’d share the information I sent them.

I’ve shared this information with numerous academics over the years. Just realized, I’ve never really posted all of this information in one place. Well, aside from our class syllabi.

So, in a very conversational tone, here we go. Critiques and suggests are, as always, appreciated. I’ve pretty much pasted the email I sent below. Read more

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