What a crazy day. Busy, busy, so it took me a while to post up this podcast interview we did at New Communications Forum this morning. A roundtable discussion of PR & social media with:
and later
I’ll try to index the conversation & questions later this weekend. For more on the New Communications Forum, track the conversation and check out the flickr photos.
Grab the feed for Weblogs Worknotes.
Technorati Tags: david parmet, evelyn rodriguez, jeremy+pepper, josh hallett, mike manuel, newcomm forum, phil gomes, pr2.0, shel israel
According to Alex Muse and Tom Foremski they should be. Tom started the conversation with his piece, "Die! Press release! Die! Die! Die!" and Alex piled on with his post, "Press Releases are for Bureacracies." Alex gives three reasons why startups should avoid press releases:
- They are expensive
- They get lost in the clutter
- They are written in ‘corporate speak’
Tom suggests:
Press releases are nearly useless. They typically start with a tremendous amount of top-spin, they contain pat-on-the-back phrases and meaningless quotes. Often they will contain quotes from C-level executives praising their customer focus. They often contain praise from analysts, (who are almost always paid or have a customer relationship.) And so on…
Press releases are created by committees, edited by lawyers, and then sent out at great expense through Businesswire or PRnewswire to reach the digital and physical trash bins of tens of thousands of journalists.
This madness has to end. It is wasted time and effort by hundreds of thousands of professionals.
Just added a podcast interview with Steve Rubel, of Micropersuasion, to the new Weblogs Worknotes feed. I’ll index the questions and topics later this weekend, but it’s available for you to check out.
Technorati Tags: edelman, micropersuasion, podcast, steve rubel
Blake Burris, prop. of CocoaRadio, is keeping the unconference thing going in the DFW area with CocoaDevHouse this Saturday at the Pure Discovery offices.
This event is a first but mirrors the mission of SuperHappyDevHouse in the Bay Area. CocoaDevHouse is a hackathon for Cocoa enthusiasts and anyone looking to mashup ideas for Mac apps. There has been chatter in #cocoadevhouse about some specific app ideas for the event but anything is welcome. More info available on wiki, http://cocoadevhouse.org
Technorati Tags: blake burris, cocoadevhouse, cocoaradio
Ernest Svenson is already off and running this morning after Mardi Gras, launching his own law practice. (PS: did we tell you that Ernie helped get Shel Israel into blogging? Ernie was one of the first non-techie bloggers to really use the medium on a daily basis.) I identify with a lot of what he says in his note below — that post-Katrina you’re just ready to give things a try. Both Hell & High Water have come & gone, so why not? Good luck, Ernie.
The day after Mardi Gras is always a day of reflection for people in New Orleans. This year, the “day after” is a special milestone: it’s been six months since Katrina hit the the Gulf Coast and ravaged Mississippi and Eastern Louisiana. For those of us who lived through the turmoil –and its bizarre aftermath– the last six months has been a continual stream of reflection. Like many people who lived in New Orleans before Katrina, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what really matters most in life (short answer: friends and family). I’ve also thought a lot about what other changes (ones that I control) might be worth making. Dreams that seemed not so pressing before Katrina now seem to be more urgent. I’ve learned a lot from Katrina, as I’m sure many people have. One thing Katrina taught us is that massive change can arrive very quickly, and have unpredictable results. If uncontrolled massive change can come into your life then why not try to bring about a little purposeful change just to balance things out? I’ve reflected on what changes I would make if I could
So, after months of reflection I’ve decided to try to practice law on my own. Of course, it will be challenging. And that’s the best reason to do it. The whole city of New Orleans faces enormous challenges. But the city is in a great position to make significant improvements. And that’s how I feel about practicing law. I want to make significant improvements in how I practice law, and the best way for me to do this is on my own. It is with more than a large dose of sorrow that I announce I’m leaving Gordon, Arata –the wonderful law firm where I’ve practiced law for the past eighteen years. But –effective today– I’ll be practicing under the rubric Svenson Law Firm LLC. I’ll continue handling the same types of business disputes that I worked on before, but with less overhead and a lower billable rate. I’ll strive to use non-hourly billable arrangements, and to use technology to increase productivity and effectiveness wherever possible.
Technorati Tags: entrepreneur, ernest+svenson, ernietheattorney
Memeorandum is sporting a shiny new look today, and Gabe is hinting at more substantial changes to come in the next few weeks. Can’t wait to see what he does with our favorite blog barometer.
Technorati Tags: design, gabe+rivera, tech.memeoranducm
Next week is shaping up to be a serious geekathon with Barcamp Austin & SXSW activities running from Friday night through the following Tuesday. We’ll be there, so drop me a line if you’d like to get together. We’re going to do a geek lunch discussion with Evelyn Rodriguez and Jon Lebkowsky on Tuesday, but we’ll post more on that later. Here’s our Upcoming schedule for all the goodness that week.
Technorati Tags: barcamp, barcampaustin, sxsw
The New Communications Forum starts today and runs through Friday. We’re speaking at a panel on Friday, and there are a number of really good speakers. We’ll also be blogging for Conferenza and recording a few podcasts while we’re there. Plus, we’ll be at the AP party tomorrow night (tacos!), and in town through Saturday. Do say hello if you’re about.
Technorati Tags: new+communications+forum
Weblogs Work is #9 on PubSub PR List! Wonder if Constantin will move to a wiki format?
