As we prepare to say farewell to 2006, I’d like to wish everyone a happy New Year. I’ve got to say, I’m really looking forward to 2007! I’ll resume posting next year. Celebrate safely, everyone.
Archive for December, 2006
Why should Microsoft and Edelman be held at fault in laptop “scandal?”
Published by December 29th, 2006 in Marketing Events, PCs, PR Practice, Public Relations, Technology, Web/Internet and Weblogs. 2 CommentsApparently Microsoft and Edelman recently sent out fully-loaded laptops running Windows Vista to a handful of influential bloggers, and it appears some people think such practices are highly unethical. Initially Microsoft encouraged the bloggers to give the machine away, send it back, or keep it after they finished reviewing it. Now it appears the machines [...]
Seth Porges at CrunchGear has put together a list of PR errors that really piss him off. (Hat tip: Shel Holtz) Unfortunately it seems like I read about such errors fairly frequently, so I’m guessing these are pretty common. One thing I noticed he’s included is "Never Cold-Call Me At My Desk." It seems like [...]
Mashable’s top social networks of 2006
Published by December 25th, 2006 in Social Networking. 0 CommentsMashable has the results of its Social Networking Awards 2006 up – They comprehensively cover the world of social networking, with awards including "Best Widgets and Add-Ons," "Sports and Fitness," "Video Sharing," and "Music," among many others. Sites like MySpace have really revolutionized, for better or worse, the way many people use the Web. As [...]
Celebrities. We love them because… Well, they’re famous. But even famous people screw up, and we’ve seen colossal examples of celebrity screw-ups in 2006. Michael Richards’ racist tirade, Mel Gibson’s drunk driving arrest and anti-semitic comments, Miss USA Tara Connor’s "unacceptable" behavior, and so on. Fortunately for them, if celebrities appear to make an honest [...]
It’s tough to remember all of the memorable PR gaffes and triumphs of 2006, but PR week has done a stellar job wrapping up the year with a number of lists covering the memorable quotes, pop-culture and business shake-ups that got people talking, and what we can look forward to in the future. As an [...]
Sony fesses up to fake PSP marketing campaign
Published by December 13th, 2006 in Marketing Events. 0 CommentsSony’s attempt to be cool with their "all i want for xmas is a psp" campaign was so laughably obvious that people from around the Web jumped all over them. Well, they’ve thrown in the towel: Busted. Nailed. Snagged. As many of you have figured out (maybe our speech was a little too funky fresh???), [...]
FTC weighs in on “word-of-mouth” marketing
Published by December 13th, 2006 in Marketing Events. 0 CommentsInteresting. From the Washington Post: The Federal Trade Commission yesterday said that companies engaging in word-of-mouth marketing, in which people are compensated to promote products to their peers, must disclose those relationships. In a staff opinion issued yesterday, the consumer protection agency weighed in for the first time on the practice. Though no accurate figures [...]
Are PR folks being paid to “Digg” stories?
Published by December 12th, 2006 in PR in the Media, Public Relations, Social Networking, Web 2.0 and Web/Internet. 2 CommentsJason Calacanis, former General Manager of Netscape and CEO of Weblogs, Inc., claims that a number of top Digg users are being paid by PR firms to promote stories to the top page. He’s even offering a $100 bounty to those who can "out the social news scammers." (For those of you unfamiliar with Digg, [...]
Is Sony guilty of astroturfing with PSP “fan” site?
Published by December 11th, 2006 in Marketing Events, PR Practice and Technology. 0 CommentsI came across a site today called "all i want for xmas is a psp." The PSP, or "PlayStation Portable," is Sony’s handheld video game system. Here’s the scoop on the site, according to the supposed proprietors: i (charlie) have a psp. my friend jeremy does not. but he wants one this year [...]
