This is not only an event, but also an occasion to increase the branding of a great city: The New York City. Wish will be here!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Saturday, November 27, 2010
Windows Live Writer
Image by Feuillu via FlickrMore useful tools for e-writers! The advantage for the today writer is that it is not enough to spend his or her time in the library or looking for creative ideas, write the book and then wait for the edition house to do the whole for him or for her. But that he or she are able to do their own promotion. And an author who is contributing directly to support his or her books is more credible than an advertising article in a review. The disadvantage is that you need minimum technical skills. Which is not such a complicate task, because everything is made for people without sophisticated skills, but with lots of ideas and ready to use these tools for sharing them.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Learning foreign languages on Twitter
Image via CrunchBaseFor ending my very long working day, I just read this interesting article about Twitter used as a (useful) tool in learnig foreign languages. I tried myself for a couple of times, for practising my wavering Spanish and Italian and I felt very much intellectually rewarded, by the opportunity of trying to express in a couple of words some basic thoughts. I think I will continue to practice it, at least twice the week.
Sunday, November 21, 2010
How to work with your Facebook fans
Image via WikipediaI am member of more than 300 groups on Facebook. Not many of them are really active and some of them didn't updated their pages for months - when I discover such situations, I am leaving them, without any regrets. Here are a couple of tips how to take care of your fans. There are not too complicated formula, but maybe because of this people simply don't mind to put it into practice.
Friday, November 19, 2010
Lecture for the week-end: The Google book
20 things I learned about browsers and the web - a very funny week-end book, from Google.
Q and A
One of the advantages of obtaining a high traffic on your blog is to post information related to things on the run in the daily reality. But not only posting links or various other data already available on the net, but trying to succeed in bringing your own contribution with other information or with interesting comments.
For some cases, posting a rapid Q and A, outlining relevant aspects concerning a specific issue - I was thinking about this idea while trying to find attractive ways to update periodically a blog covering topics regarding the foreign affairs. You can offer to your readers original content for exaplaining a certain situation you are findind everywhere in the media. Nowadays, for continuing with the example from the area of international relations, everybody is discussing about the issue of the economic situation from Ireland. You, as an inspired writer, you are identifying a couple of questions following the lecture of the most important articles or opinions that will be answered on the basis of a proper documentation. Time is important and before deciding the blogging hobby you need to be well prepared for dedicating more than five minutes the day or the week for updating and promoting your blog. Of course, in the case that you want to offer a reliable and successful project.
Have a nice and inspiring week-end!
Thursday, November 18, 2010
On Pictures and Words
Image via Wikipedia//The new connectivityAs I am managing several Facebook, Twitter accounts and a couple of blogs - in fact I feel sometimes as a big media owner, even my empire is a very not-for-profit and it keeps me so busy than I do not have time to appear on TV - I am trying to focus on a lot of details, in my efforts (not too desperate yet, but though...) for increasing visibility and getting some profit.
One important aspect is the personalization. Trying to find for each account and blogs representative pictures. It will be far too easy to simply post a picture of myself (which I did only in the case of my personal accounts). My idea is to find the right visual representation for each of them. Not posting a picture is, in my opinion, decreasing the visibility and the seriosity, as you might look as a spammer' account.
Another aspect is updating. As my financial resources are not generated - by now - by this social media activities, and beyond the job I have my family, a very intense social and cultural life and lots of other interests, I have to portion more than perfectly my time for answering to posts, planning the writing schedule, documenting for articles. Sometimes I have to rest a bit, but this is a very insignificant part of my life, anyway. But, as far as I started this "job", I have the ambition of updating at least once the week all my outlets. And by updating I understand more than posting some links I am reading - which I do to, but trying to offer more than this. And, by now, I think that I was able to keep a certain balance.
What I do not like is when I see people who limited their presence at opening an account, adding friends - on Facebook - or occupying a virtual space - on blogger or Twitter - and nothing else. I have, for example, a couple of academics on my Facebook list of friends. All of them, I know, are very active in their real life. Some are having thousand of friends on Facebook. But, they hardly post a link to an interesting article or a comment in months. What is so difficult, when opening the Facebook for confirmation of 100 friends request, to post a link? It rather a matter of creating habits and using some very valuable tools in connecting with people. The same with Twitter. You have new followers - you are announced about this in your Inbox ? If you don't have time to greet them by "names", at least have daily or every two days or when you are entering your e-mail - a short update greeting them. It is not killing your time and it is so so easy.
Happy networking day!
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
The relationship with the client
Image via WikipediaPreparing for the evaluation of my last three intensive years in various kinds of PR, I reached a couple of conclusions regarding the importance of the relation between the agency, respectively the consultant, and the client. In many cases, for not clearly and rational reasons (the empathy being very important), it may happen that the client is not only very demanding, but also unpredictable and not very clear in formulating the requests.
I do not think it is a universal receipe to win the hearts and minds of the client - meaning the whole mechanism governing a company, from the CEO, PR manager, marketing manager, other consultants. But, a conflictual relation is at a great extent detrimental to the well being of the project as such. A pro-active attitude, tolerance and the capacity to impose self-respect could be some tips for solving such conflicts - personality or education based.
Here are some of the musts a consultant or a PR agency have to do in relation with the client:
- To know the project working to in the smallest details, by heart in every moment of the day. Only in this way you will be able to size possible opportunities of intervention on behalf of your client or to find media or communications windows. When you talk with a journalist, for example, you can identify the possibilities of better promoting your client or to create sympathy lor awareness for your projects.
- Before starting the effective work to a project, take a couple of days to document. Ask the friends and the enemies, the former clients and agencies. Ask internal documents and read media reports step-by-step.
- Be able to identify what do you need from your client. Maybe he or she is not having the knowledge of working with the media and don't know what questions the journalist could address or the pressure faced for meeting the deadlines.
- The client is busy and don't waste his time with hundreds of e-mails asking thousand of questions. Be concise and organized enough to address all of them once and in the simplest possible way.
- Deliver finite products to your client. Avoid misspellings, omissions, bad grammar. Check the documents over and over again. Document your presentations and make them reader-friendly. Power Point management is very important.
- Deliver the documents in time. Respect your deadlines, the deadlines of the media and the deadlines of the client. If not possible, explain in due time the reasons and the next time schedule you can meet.
This is my wisdom pill for today. Happy working.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Facebook messaging
Image by Getty Images via @daylifeMy impressions, as an intensive user of Facebook:I watched yesterday live the Facebook conference from Palo Alto, for announcing the new e-mail social platform. The persons with expertise in the industry already started giving their opinion on the limits and advantages of this new capabilities added to the social platform.
- The idea to develop the e-mail platform is welcomed. I would need to be able to better organize my e-mail system from Facebook in folders, preferences, categories. I have friends with contacts only on Facebook, and I would like to communicate with them directly on this social platform, instead switching to the usual e-mail.
- I didn't understand very clear the privacy setting for this application. How secure is, for example, the system, for preventing hacking. This new unified formula might be a paradise for the hackers. I don't have all my contacts on the same e-mail, but in the case of Facebook, I could have workmates, family, friends, acquaintances, VIPs. For a hacker, this is opening impressive perspectives on a complex network.
Most probably, there will be introduced other changes and new features once the system will continue to be tested. Don't know if it is good or bad, I would expect more attention for the privacy aspects.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Apple vs. Google
Mirror, mirror in the wall, who's the media's favorite tech company in the world? And the winner is...Apple. At least by now.
Mozilla's new entry
Mozilla messaging group launched F1, a Firefox extension that aims to make sharing content around the social web much easier.
My blogs on Kindle
Should I register some of my blogs on Kindle Publishing for Blogs? I was thinking about the most successful ones, that I am managing more than one year and which I would like to use as starting points for future businesses. According to some presentation I've read, the readers are subscribing to your feeds for 0.99$ and you share your revenues with Amazon who is supposed to take 70% of the share. Maybe it is not fair, but when you don't have other choices, it can get used with the idea at the end of the day. The one and only problem, for somebody who is not based, tax payer and account holder in the States is that you cannot register. Period. Annoying, isn't it?
Instapaper
Image via CrunchBaseInstapaper is a new tool designated to save web pages. We are assailed by information, interesting links we are exposed and we need to know, but we don't have always time to evaluate it instantly. The advantage of this instrument is that it is offering the occasion to save webpages from Kindle, iPhone, iPad and, of course, fromt the not yet so obsolete computer.
Meditations on Scrum and Agile
Image via WikipediaI am not an expert on SCRUM and I assume that I will never be, but I am extremely interested in this new way of managing projects as a part of a revolutionary mindset that I associate with our hi-tech-world. I had the occasion to work in various environments covering various domains, exclusively in the area of PR and communications. But this Department is not an isolated domain and most part of the time you are more exposed than the others to the advantages and disadvantages of the organizational culture and working style of your company. The opportunities opened by SCRUM are, in my opinion, the increase of the level of efficiency, a better time management, a better evaluation of your aims and tools to reach your targets, as an increased efficiency of human resources management. Both the classical and the new way of project and knowledge management are producing results. What the new way of thinking and putting things in perspective is extremely important in delivering fast and within the best organizational matrix. I will have always keep my ears and eyes and mind open to new paradigms and ideas, be case I am convinced on the need to improve my skills and knowledge and, by than, be able to produce and induce change in the world.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Ask.com is dead!
Image via WikipediaJeeves, your favorite butler, is nothing more than a good memory of the times when Internet started to enter our lives, little by little. My first experience with the net dates back in 1996 when I had my first job and my first e-mail address, on hotmail, an address that I still have and use once the week. I needed Jeeves for various documentations for my articles, but not extensively as I am doing today. Practically, when I need to write something, a journalistic product, I spend half of the time searching online and the rest writing. And I don't have doubts that the journalistic quality of the works I wrote in late 1990s were inferior to what I am doing now. In some respects, I believe that it is rather the opposite. But, as for the resources themselves, I cannot but be happy living at the beginning of the 21st century and having the occasion to meet Mr. Jeeves.
Suggestions for December presents
Image via WikipediaIncredibly or not, we are approaching rapidly the end of 2010. Time for evaluations, promotions, parties and, very important, for connecting with the human side of our clients and supporters or potential customers and business connections. Sending personalized e-mails or cards, inviting them for informal dinner or directly calling them for sharing with them the best wishes for the next year.
It is very important that these presents have connection with our domain of activity. We are consolidating our position, our identity, we share our loyalty to the values we are sharing. All these presents have to be personalized and share the logo of the company and a letter signed by the general manager.
If you are, for example, active in the area of IT, you can create a calendar with significant pictures from the industry, sending the message of your identity. Or, if you are part of the automotive industry, to create gadgets as small cars with your logo, or agendas.
Don't forget your own employees. Personalized agenda or calendars for internal use sharing working moment - celebrating the ceremony of receiving a prize, shotings from the weekly meetings or funny quotes of your colleagues, may create a certain internal cohesion and give the idea of the big family you are part of.
And, of course, never forget about the yearly casual gathering. Beyond work, you need to have some fun - a dancing party, attendance of a concert, a two-day trip in a mountain resort with your family - are some suggestions for saying a decent good bye to 2010 and preparing to face the challenges of the next 12 months.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Quoting effect
The week is about to end, and I still have to upload three blogs with content for proudly entering the week-end. Before that, I would like to say a couple of words about the use of quotes in a communications approach.
Although it is not recommended to have literary and bibliographical projections for the daily communications - think about a quote from Shakespeare in the lead of a press release about the launch of a new washing machine, or for starting a press conference. But, if you are on social media, connecting creatively a quote - from Shakespeare, let's say - in connection with qualities attributed to the washing machine it's not inappropriate at all. Gathering quotes and old sayings about the connection between health and cleanliness would be helpful in finding ideas for blog posts, tweets or Facebook status or for creating interesting ads.
As usual, you need to use the proper environment for the proper tool. Or the opposite.
Happy networking week-end to everyone!
Media Bestiary
Image via WikipediaAn excellent piece, a good lecture to enter the week-end, from The New Yorker, by Susan Orlean, about the new social index of our lives.
This new side of the relationships are revealing the superficial side of the virtual connections and the ridiculous situations of fake human empathy. For example, for me it is very funny to observe the interactions that anonymous people are having with personalities on Facebook on the occasion of what used to represent very private moments: birthdays, anniversaries, death etc. Out of nowhere, they are assailed with various congratulations and emoticons. And, the influence-effect is working very well, as people use to follow the example of the others when it is about this kind of collective behavior.
The serious part is the potential you have, if really part of the network, to change and trade ideas. You can get information useful for your work, academic career or personal life. But, the choice for the network is always yours.
Zemanta" style="border:none;float:right">Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Zemanta
Image by Helder da Rocha via FlickrMy biggest discovery for today is Zemanta, which I started to use extensively for all my blogs. An amazing tool to add content to your blog, pictures and recommended links about the topics you are covering in your post. If your imagination and creativity are low, Zemanta is also offering the opportunity to explore a data bank with possible subjects to write about.
After almost four years of blogging, I am still waiting - enthusiastically, of course - for the moment when my writing products will go beyond the pleasure of writing and upgrade to a very professional level. While waiting, I am improving as much as I can.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Social books
Just read an article on Huffington Post about the social networking sites for book lovers. I am on Shelfari for about two years, maybe, and, since recently, on Goodreads. I am updating carefully my shelves, with the latest books read. From time to time I am inviting or I am invited for connections and I am watching conversations in the groups of interest or posting random thoughts about books. Until now, the communication with my book mates is nil. A reason might be as well the limited possibility of interacting in real-life, via chat. And, as everywhere, people looking for dating or virtual adventure, are the most active.
Inspiration
For me, this story was the energy pill for today: an inspirational story about success and never giving up. Or success exactly because never giving up.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Book review: Connected. The surprising power of our social networks and how they shape our lives
For business, personal or academic reasons, staying away of the power of social networks looks as a risky behavior. And the risk is not only of social nature, but might have as well consequences on the level of general health. The book is offering among the first, according to my knowledge, an evaluation of the implication of the network for the social, political, economic and health levels. Becoming in a relatively short time a human superorganism, the network - made up of various gatherings of friends, co-workers, people with whom we share various interests, potential mates - is creating new patterns and social habits and is involved in changing attitudes faster than before.
Although our exposure to information and though, to knowledge, is significantly different, the human qualities required to maintain the flux of information didn't changed at all, because, the authors outline from the very beginning (xi), "altruism and goodness are essential for social networks to grow and endure". And, in addition (xii): "Just as brains can do things that no single neuron can do, so can social networks do things no single person can do".
The pattern of the "everyday social networks" are following the "natural tendency of each person to seek out and make many or more friends, to have large or small families, to work in personable or anonymous workplaces" (p.13). Social networks embrace two fundamental aspects, according to the authors (p.16) - connection and contagion - and are operating according to four fundamental rules (pp. 17-26): "We shape our network", "Our network shapes us", "Our friends affect us", "Our friends' friends' friends affect us" and "The network has a life of its own". And, as "the taste of the cake transcends the simple sum of its ingredients" (p.26). Exploring different aspects - the political aspects during voting, the contagion effect of various behaviors among teenagers (as suicide or sexual experiences) - the resources for making life parterships and building relationships - we have a full picture of our networked world.
The conclusions are based on studies released in more than a decade, with a detailed quantive background. A bizarre exception, in my opinion, is the mention of the case of spreading back pain via social networks (pp.119-120): "Before the Berlin Wall, East Germany had much lower rates of back pain than West Germany, but within ten years of reunification, rates had converged to be the same, with East Germany emulating West Germany's higher rate". The authors don't mention any surveys regarding the medical situation, the working conditions or other specific affects, but the "psychosocial decontamination". This is the risk of exclusive and non-critical inductive thinking.
The novelty brought by the Internet relies on four radical modifications of "existing types of social-network interactions" (p. 275): Enormity - our worlds are becoming increasingly big and global; Communality - the possibility to share information at the level of communities; Specificity of our ties, based on particular interests and Virtuality, under the aspects of our different identities we can shape and assume in the online world.
"We are more connected for a reason" (p. 295) and the better use of our new skills, with the help of our brains connections we already developed during our long evolutive history, is an important asset for knowledge, both emotionally and socially oriented.
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