In this episode of PRobecast, Renatta Siewert and Justin Martell join me in talking about the man who live-tweeted the Bin Laden operation, Google adding video chat to the Android phone and Assange calling Facebook a spy for the government.

Man live-tweets Bin Laden operation – A Pakistani man live-tweeted the raid that killed Bin Laden – the most wanted terrorist in the world. As he strangely heard the noise of a helicopter above him he started tweeting about what he heard. Quickly, he gained 14,000 followers. He continued to blog about the noises that he was hearing and became the first to document the operation. This goes to show the power of 140 characters.

Android phones will have video chat capabilities – Google recently revealed that it is adding video chat capabilities to the Android phone. This will allow users to chat from their phones, computers or tablets – however these capabilities are only available if you have an Android 2.3 version – it also requires 3G, 4G or a WiFi connection. Is this about time or right on time?

Julian Assange says Facebook is a way for the government to spy on you – WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange recently was interviewed by Russia Today. During the interview he called Facebook “the most appalling spy machine that has ever been invented.” Harsh words, but he does have some reasoning behind it. While the government doesn’t run Facebook, they do have access to the database of information that people willingly make public. What do you think – is he just talking crazy?

Now it’s time for the PRobecast PR Power Ranking – which is when we go around the room and pick the story that we think ranks the highest PR-wise – meaning any aspects of PR could be the reasoning behind the pick. Is it the story itself, good data that was used, what’s getting the most pickup, was it a good PR move the company made, etc.

This week’s winner is the live-tweeting of the Bin Laden operation story. This just shows how social media has become such a significant factor into our every day lives. Social media allows people to become self-publishers, and while most people will never get recognition from their tweets – in this instance, it let a regular guy be the first to document one of the biggest events in history.

What story do you think should have won?

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Android, Bin Laden, Facebook, Google, Julian Assange, Twitter, video chat

Share/Save

We had a special guest joining us during this week’s PRobecast – Sam Whitmore, founder and editor of Sam Whitmore’s Media Survey, which provides tech media analysis and consulting to tech PR Pros and media buyers. Along with Sam, Topazers Tony Sapienza and Liz O’Donnell join me for a round table discussion about how PR has changed – from pitching to different social media tactics.

Add to our discussion – how else has PR changed?

MP3 File

Share on Facebook

Technorati Tags: Infographics, Pitching Media, Sam Whitmore, Scare Tactics

Share/Save

Let’s get one thing straight. No one has ever accused me of being a grammar expert, including my journalism teacher at Emerson College years ago, the great Marsha Della-Guinstina, who occasionally directed me to the school’s Learning Assistance Center to clean up my reports (but at least she did say I could be a great reporter some day…so how did I wind up in PR??? That’s another story…)

With my past grammar mishaps in mind, I’ve worked diligently to eliminate such errors during the course of writing many a client document and endless PR pitches. (Hint: when in doubt about grammar usage, turn to the AP Stylebook — a PR person’s best friend! Your computer’s spell check just doesn’t always cut it).

With all the time I’ve spent writing, over the years I’ve developed a certain respect for well written documents, and ultimately, proper use of the English language.

I figured that the Oxford Dictionary folks felt the same way about the English language, too.

But my opinion changed over the weekend upon learning that MMS abbreviations like OMG, LOL and “heart” (as in “I don’t heart radioactive tap water”) have been included in the latest issue of the Oxford Dictionary. Even LaLa Land, often used to describe those beautiful, plastic surgery addicted folks in Los Angeles, has been included.

As this Mobiledia article points out, the addition of these abbreviations demonstrate the influence of mobile and Internet technologies on contemporary language usage.

Not that I don’t use these terms frequently myself in emails, on Twitter and Facebook, etc. however you really have to wonder about our culture if these abbreviations are now actually considered worthy of inclusion in the Oxford Dictionary.

I’m sure there’s a PR handler spinning this news and why it’s a good thing. The upside for them is they are getting some great coverage for their clients.

But the downside for the rest of us may be the slow death of the English language.

Share on Facebook

Share/Save