Twitterchats, Tweetathons, T-chats, Tweetups, whatever you want to call them, require a 100% team effort. If done right, they can greatly increase web traffic, improve organizational transparency, increase your Twitter followers, and build up or improve your community. It may be hard to convince your client this is a great thing for visibility, but all evidence points to success.

Since I’ve wanted to organize a Twitterchat for months now, I went searching for the best way to go about the task. I found a step-by-step blog from The Blue Key Campaign, which spent a week promoting and organizing its first one. The first step, of course, is that you need an established community. If there’s no one there to participate, where will your responses come from?

I mentioned before that this effort requires input and time from every team member. In our agency case, we’d need the PR team plus our clients, in order to answer questions in the format they arrive, whether it’s Twitter @reply, DM, or email. My hope is that once everyone gets on board, we’ll see results for our clients and as an agency. If you’re looking for a way to start a Twitterchat, check out Blue Key Campaign’s steps. They are as detailed as they come!

Have you ever tried a Twitterchat? What were the results? What would you do differently next time?

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Technorati Tags: community, PR, Social Media, Twitter chats

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Big Y Ditching Tech for Human Interaction – A recent study shows that more and more people are opting not to check-out at the self check-out line at the grocery store and instead go to the cashier. A study from the Food Marketing Institute has found that only 16 percent of shoppers use these self check-out lanes and now Big Y has recently announced they are ‘bagging’ these lanes. With a society so addicted to technology, this surprises me. Will people start calling their friends and family rather than taking more time to text them? Will we see other trends where people prefer human interaction rather than tech?

Neiman Marcus’ Foursquare Campaign – Neiman Marcus is launching a campaign on Foursquare to promote its annual shoe and handbag event – hiding 15 Nancy Gonzalez clutches at 15 of its 41 stores. When a customer checks-in on Foursquare, they will be told whether they are in close range of the hidden clutch and where to find it. The first to find the clutch wins. In total, Neiman Marcus will be giving away 56 clutches because they will also be picking at random lucky winners who checked in. Do campaigns like this help promote the Neiman Marcus brand? Will we be seeing more companies do campaigns like this?

What’s up with Facebook? – Everyone has been up in arms with Facebook’s recent changes to people’s feeds and profile page. However, Facebook will be changing once again with the launch of Timelines and Open Graph. Timelines will pull everything you’ve ever posted (or what people have posted on your wall) all into in e-scrapbook that people can easily browse through once on your profile page. Open Graph has customizable actions and gestures that will allow applications to post things you are doing online – and offline, depending on the application. Is this going to far?

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, Neiman Marcus’ Foursquare campaign won. Noting that a younger demographic isn’t normally their target audience, the use of Foursquare to bring in new customers is a great campaign. While Tony and Justin aren’t normally into clutches, everyone appreciated the creative aspects of this campaign – and agreed it makes the Neiman Marcus brand look more favorable to consumers.

Who do you think should have won?

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Technorati Tags: Facebook and privacy, Facebook's Open Graph, Facebook's Timelines, Foursquare camaigns, Neiman Marcus, self checkouts

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Google Plus One Button

Users who opt in will start to notice a small +1 button beside each link that comes up in Google search results. When you click on this button, your name becomes associated with that link across the web. It also shows up in a feed on your Google profile which is required to use it. You can also +1 an advertisement you like which will subsequently be recommended to your friends.

I’m thinking that the +1 button will most likely be successful (more than Buzz anyway) due to the fact that (according to Google) the data will have a direct influence on its search rankings, but its also another means of combating content farms, as users will be less likely to share their content. Will you be opting in?

See video for more information:

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Is tech changing who we really think are our friends? – Sherry Turkle, author of “Alone Together,” is concerned about how technology is changing people and causing possible psychological side effects with excessive use of not just physical tech, but social networks and the internet in general. In her book, she says who many of the adolescents interviewed said that they don’t particularly like using the phone – the conversations are too long, prying and hard to end – while texts are an easy way to control the situation. Is technology making it easier for people to engage without the personal connection?

Is a non-alcoholic beer a Gatorade competitor? – A non-alcoholic beer is the latest drink being marketed as a sports and fitness beverage. The beer is apparently full of vitamins and has “natural regenerative powers” that help athletes recover from a strenuous workout. It’s currently the number 1 non-alcoholic beer in Germany. Would you grab one of these recovery drinks over a Gatorade?

Google launches a new ‘Person Finder’ page – Google has launched a Person Finder page to help victims of the New Zealand earthquake. It’s all user-generated data and people can go in and search, add information about someone or leave a message for a lost loved one on the site. They’ve previously created similar pages after the disasters in Haiti, China and Chile.

Coming to your conference room soon: Holograms – Developers of holographic displays are working on new technology that could change the way we think of conference calls – hologram video projection. This technology could present a filmed presentation live and 3-D right in front of your eyes. Some are skeptical of the technology, saying that if it’s just a hologram, anyone sitting up close. Either way, if the technology does in fact work as planned, it definitely changes the meaning of teleconferencing people in.

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.

Google isn’t always on the receiving end of complimentary news – but by offering a way for victims of these tragic disasters to help locate friends and family members makes them our PR Power Ranker of the week. It’s nice to see bigger brands help those that need it, especially under these circumstances.

Do you agree with us?

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Technorati Tags: Along Together, Erdinger, Person Finder, Sherry Turkle

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Google’s launch if TeachParentsTech.org – Are your parents always asking for help doing “techie” things on the computer? Google just launched TeachParentsTech.org, which is a site that will allow people to send how-to basic videos like how to upload pics to the not-so-tech-savvy. What are your thoughts on this new launch? Do your parents always ask you for help?

Visa’s iPhone app offers exclusive deals – Visa just launched a free iPhone app which will offer Visa card holders exclusive deals from over 50 merchants – such as New York & Co., Holiday Inn, Zales, etc. The offers will be stored in the application and can be fine tuned to the card holder’s preferences. The application also has location-based technology which can offer directions to the store or to the closest ATM. Sounds like Visa launched this at a good time – right before the holidays.

Time’s 2010 ‘Person of Year’ – Time magazine has named Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, as the Person of the Year for 2010 as he is one of the youngest billionaires and his philanthropic ways. Do you think he should have won?

Are you using your smartphone for holiday shopping lists? – There is a lot of holiday shopping that happens in the month of December and our smartphones are making it easier than ever to keep track of those on our lists. More and more people are ditching the pen and paper and creating lists via a variety of apps on their smartphones. How are you doing your holiday shopping? Is technology helping you?

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, Google’s launch of TeachParentsTech.org won for starting the initiative to promote the education of technology and enabling people to help those that aren’t tech savvy.

Who do you think should have won?

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Technorati Tags: Christina Sapienza, holiday shopping, iProspect, TechParentsTech.org, Time Magazine's Person of the Year, Visa

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Zuckerberg is the latest recipient of the award, whose criteria isn’t academic but rather based on the person, idea, group of people or object that “for better or worse, has most influenced events in the preceding year.”

Well, it’s about time (pun intended)! Over the past five years, social media has had a profound effect on… well, just about everything. Facebook is to VHS what Myspace is to Beta, and they can now boast to having at least a half-billion members around the world, sharing thoughts, pictures and staying in touch in real-time.

However, social media isn’t just for complaining, letting people know you’re about to take a shower, which restaurant you’re eating at or posting incriminating pictures of you and your friends/family. Social media has become an incredibly powerful tool that can be a more effective instrument of social change than diplomacy or weaponry.

Whether we like it or not, social change is going to occur all over the world, for better or worse, and social media is now a mass medium. I would have been a bit more satisfied if Social Media itself had won the award, like the computer did in 1982 but nevertheless, I salute you Mr. Zuckerberg.

Meanwhile, millions of Apple Fanboys and Fangirls will almost certainly be whining about how Person of the Year should be Steve Jobs, who has still never won the award.

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Technorati Tags: Facebook, Man of the year, Mark Zuckerberg, Social Media, Time Magazine

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I’m sure that by now we’ve all heard the term “Cyber Monday” which hasn’t yet earned the infamy of “Black Friday” but has gained some significant media coverage nonetheless. But where and when did this silly term originate? I was once told by a very reliable source that it originated in the early 2000s when office workers, still nursing tryptophan hangovers from the Thanksgiving weekend, would do or finish their holiday shopping online at their desks because many, if not most people still didn’t have high-speed internet connections at home. Or, perhaps it was just a clever excuse for procrastination! Whatever the case may be, a decade later Ethernet, wireless 3G and 4G are pretty much standard at home and on smart phones, so the connection theory doesn’t exactly hold up anymore, but are there really better deals for online shoppers the Monday after Thanksgiving?

According to a recent article from CNN, Cyber Monday is nothing more than a marketing gimmick and “has never been the biggest day of the year for online retail sales,” which usually (and ironically, I suppose) falls on a Monday in mid-December. One report suggests that featured deals on Cyber Monday are actually for stuff that didn’t sell on Black Friday (leftovers anyone?).

Did you do any shopping on Black Friday and/or planning to shop online today?

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We were lamenting about how we secretly wished we weren’t “friends” with some of our family members and even some of our friends. First, there are the friends and family who need to post, actually it feels more like bragging, what they are doing every minute of the day. Especially those who don’t work so are constantly working out, vacationing or playing golf.

Then there are my newlywed friends who need to post on a daily basis how much they are in love or how often they miss their travelling spouse or just recently posted the countdown until she arrived home. Dude, get a life, if she doesn’t go away, she can’t miss you!

And I can’t count the number of times I’ve cringed at the photos or profanity posted by my nieces and nephews, despite the plethora of news warning them that it’s career suicide to post half naked photos with a Bong in one hand and a bottle of JD in the other. Hello? What happens in Vegas is supposed to stay in Vegas, not relived on Facebook! Seriously, I really don’t want to know all this personal stuff about my family and friends.

Even more dangerous was when a co-worker posted a comment on Facebook that was completely misinterpreted and created quite an unnecessary stir.

Alas, I know these are the new forms of communication, but whatever happened to a few family reunions and the Yankee Swap at Christmas time? Oh right, those photos too will be posted on Facebook. Aunt Carolyn, with a bow tied around her head, swapping out the emergency road kit for the leopard Snuggie.

But as a PR professional I also use Facebook for business reasons, to read the latest article by a reporter or keep in touch with clients and colleagues. Unfortunately that means friends and business contacts are inexplicably tied on my Facebook. Sometimes I have to hold myself back from pushing out my own personal brand on Facebook, but I try to keep it neutral in fear that someone might misinterpret my posts and God forbid, defriend me!

Having said all this, I have to admit that nothing beats the look of excitement on my 97 year old grandmother’s face when I pull up Facebook and show her all the recent photos and videos of her great great grandchildren. That my friend makes Facebook priceless!

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You are very good to me in many ways. You allow me to track multiple twitter accounts at the same time. I can monitor key words in different streams so I am up-to-date on the multitude of conversations that are going on in the twitosphere. You even let me monitor and update facebook, LinkedIn, WordPress, MySpace, Foursquare and PingFM if my heart chooses to do so.

But you know the old saying, if it seems too good to be true then it probably is. HootSuite despite everything I love about you, it’s come to my attention that you’ve been deceiving me. WHY do you incorrectly update Topaz’s facebook fan page? Leaving me to believe that no one has commented when, in fact, they did.

While going directly to the fan page isn’t that big of a deal, it is still an inconvenience especially since you are supposed to be doing this for me. I don’t want to have to check all the time to make sure you are giving me the correct information.

I would greatly appreciate it if you could please straighten up your act and start doing things correctly.

Love,
Alison

Anyone else having trouble like this? What do you use to monitor your social networks?

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Technorati Tags: facebook fan page, HootSuite, monitoring

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Travel industry using Social Media to Talk to Customers- More and more travel companies are using social media to communicate to their customers delays, mistakes they’ve made and deals. It’s an effective way to communicate immediately with travelers – Delta passengers can even buy tickets through their facebook page. Have you interacted via social media with your airline or travel company before a trip?

Cision offers free software college students – Cision is now offering free software to college students – offering them teaching aids, suggested lesions, etc. Do you think this will help entry level PR people to be better PR people?

NPR launching topic-specific hyperlocal news sites – NPR is launching hyperlocal sites in 12 different cities throughout the US – however, these sites won’t just be general news about the local area. Each site has a different theme (i.e. Boston’s WBUR will cover health care issues on CommonHealth.) Their goal with these sites is to gain national perspectives on these issues. What do you think of this launch?

Who’s in the right: HP or Hurd/Oracle? – As we all heard HP’s CEO Mark Hurd recently stepped down from his position after a nsexual harassment investigation. He now is planning on working for Oracle, HP’s biggest rival, and HP is giving this a fight. HP is saying that Hurd knows too much confidential information and is filing a civil complaint to prevent Hurd from joining Oracle. Who is in the right?

“Still Alive, but In Jail,” Journalist Tweets – A Japanese journalist was being held against his will in Afghanistan and used a low-ranking soldiers cell phone to tweet to his followers his location. He apparently was released the next day, although it isn’t known whether it was directly related to his tweet. The twist to this story is that this is not the first time he’s been taken into captivity – in 2001 he was held in Georgia. On one hand, it’s great that technology has really allowed people to communicate where they are if they are hurt or abducted (when the tech is available), but this guy should really be more careful when covering stories!

Lady Gaga’s Meat Controversy – Lady Gaga recently caused a lot of controversy with PETA over a cover shot she was in in VOGUE Japan where she is wearing a “meat outfit.” Are you offended?

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In this week’s PRobecast PR Power Ranking – where we vote on what story did the best job PR-wise – the travel industry and their rising use of social media to engage customers won!

Who do you think deserves this week’s PRobecast PR Power Ranking?

Hope you enjoyed this week’s PRobecast!!

We’re always up for suggested topics so let us know what you want to hear about!

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Technorati Tags: Cision, Lady Gaga, NPR, PETA, Tom Brady, Travel

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