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Technorati Tags: Blackberry's free apps, Dr. Pepper Ten, Dr. Pepper's new ad campaign, Lindsay Lohan might go to jail, sexist advertisements

PRobecast 124: Cigarette Labels, Mobile Apps Saving $$, Whitey Bulger

Alison Raymond — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:34:53 +0000

In this episode of PRobecast, Justin Martell and Renatta Siewart join me in talking about the new graphic cigarette labels, mobile apps being used to save money, the capture of Whitey Bulger and a little pup with 4 prosthetic legs.

New Cigarette Warnings – Starting in September 2012, the Food and Drug Administration is going to start pushing out graphic warnings that will be required to be placed on the packages of cigarettes. Graphics include: dead bodies, decaying teeth with cancer of the mouth, etc. What do you think of this campaign? Will this get people to stop smoking?

Mobile apps are helping people save money – Putnam Investments recently launched an application for iPhones that can scan bar codes to compare prices at other stores. Once the prices come up, it will reflect which purchase is better for your savings in the long run. The article on USA Today, also says that other programs such as UPromise and one from PNC Bank also help consumers save money. What do you think of these types of applications?

Whitey Bulger arrested – The big news of the week is that Whitey Bulger has finally been caught and arrested after being found in Santa Monica. Now 81, Whitey has been on the run for 15 years, after he was tipped by an FBI agent that he was about to be indicted. In 1995, Bulger was indicted for racketeering and for 19 murders. This capture was just after one day of a newly launched campaign by the FBI, trying to locate Bulger and his longtime girlfriend, Catherine Elizabeth Greig.

Dog with 4 prosthetic paws – At just over 5 weeks, a puppy named Naki’o – and his brothers and sisters – were abandoned after their family’s house was foreclosed on in Nebraska. Fortunately the puppy survived through the winter, however, his paws were deformed into rounded stumps after being stuck in an icy puddle. According to Incrediblefeatures.com, Veterinary technician Christie Tomlinson “organized a fundraiser to pay for Naki’o to have his two back legs fitted with prosthetics.” He is now the first dog to have a set of four prosthetic paws. It’s amazing what technology can do!

While the Whitey Bulger story is huge, Renatta and I chose the new cigarette labels as this week’s winner. When it comes to younger kids choosing to smoke – seeing it as being ‘cool’ – we think these labels can really change their minds before taking their first drag. While some adults are just used to their routine, this campaign could be very effective in encouraging younger kids and teenagers to live a healthier lifestyle.

Do you agree?

Technorati Tags: Cigarette Labels, Cigarette Warnings, Dog with prosthetic paws, Mobile Apps, Putnam Investments, Saving Money, Whitey Bulger

PRobecast 118: YouTube’s On-demand Videos, Local Media and a Prom Proposal Gone Wrong

Alison Raymond — Fri, 13 May 2011 14:49:06 +0000

In this episode of PRobecast, Sarah Thomas and Justin Martell join me in talking about You Tube adding on-demand movies, what ‘local media’ is and the teen that was banned from prom.

YouTube is adding on-demand movie rentals – Monday, Youtube is adding on-demand movie rentals that will make this service be in direct competition to Netflix, Hulu, etc. Not sure how much YouTube will charge – but do you think this will effect the other services?

There’s no such thing as ‘local media’ – An article on PRWeek talks about how there is no such thing as ‘local media’ coverage. It goes on to say how since more and more smaller publications are going online – it is an opportunity for more eyes to see every article as they are spread through the internet and different social media channels. An article running in you’re hometown publication, still offers clients an opportunity to be spread further than just the print circulation of subscribers

Teen banned from prom after prom proposal – James Tate, a New Shelton, CT senior, thought has was being creative and sincere when asking his potential date to the prom. He cute out letters out of cardboard and stuck it to the side of the school. However, school officials didn’t think so. He was slapped with a one-day in-house suspension for trespassing and posing a safety risk. Because of this suspension he is now also unable to attend prom. People are now turning to social media asking the school officials to take back the punishment. Are you on #teamtate?

This week’s winner was the story about the teen being banned from his high school prom and the social media tactics taking place trying to support him to get the punishment evoked. This just goes to show the power of social media – and how social media can be used in so many ways.

Click To Play:

Do you agree?

Technorati Tags: James Tate, Local Coverage, On-Demand Videos, Prom, Prom Proposals, YouTube

PRobecast 117: Live-Tweets of the Bin Laden Raid, Video Chat, Facebook is a Spy

Alison Raymond — Fri, 06 May 2011 15:33:56 +0000

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?

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?

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

Sony Unveils Two Tablet PCs

esiff — Tue, 26 Apr 2011 15:25:34 +0000

Sony recently unveiled its two new tablet PCs which will go on sale later this year (let the drooling commence…) and I must say that I think we may finally have the iPad killer Android users have been waiting for. The timing couldn’t be better either, after the failure of the Samsung Galaxy, Motorola Xoom and Blackberry RIM Playbook to prove a worthy competitor to the iPad.

The first tablet, dubbed the S1, is a 9.4” tablet that is thicker on one end and tapers down toward the other end, making it easier to grip. The other tablet, cleverly called the S2, is a smaller, clam-shell style device that folds open to reveal two 5.5” touchscreeens and can easily fit inside a jacket pocket.

Sony tablets S1 & S2

I have a feeling I will end up purchasing at least one of these devices, perhaps both. Although Sony products tend to be a little more expensive than their competitors, their quality, reliability and design more than make up for it. I’ve been using the same Sony Vaio laptop for the past 4 years with no problems (knock on plastic) patiently waiting for the right time to upgrade, which is hopefully coming in a few months.

Technorati Tags: Galaxy, iPad, PC, Playbook, S1, S2, Sony, Tablet, Xoom

PRobecast Special Edition: Sam Whitmore and the Changing Times in PR

Alison Raymond — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 15:34:14 +0000

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?

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

PRobecast #114: Southwest’s Woes, Amazon’s Music Service & YouTube

Alison Raymond — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:44:11 +0000

This week during PRobecast episode #114, Topazers Renatta Siewert, Sarah Thomas and Justin Martell join me in talking about Southwest’s cracks in the Boeing 737, Amazon’s launch of their new online music streaming service and YouTube being revamped to offer original news content.

Southwest Airlines’ Boeing 737 cracks – Southwest airlines has seen better days, especially after Friday’s flight where a Boeing 737-300 carrying just over 100 people had to do an emergency landing when a 5-foot long hole tore open in the passenger cabin roof. Hundreds of flights had been cancelled, and now Southwest is trying to work as fast as possible to inspect other like-planes to ensure this won’t happen again.

Could Amazon’s new music service hurt Apple? – Last week Amazon launched, Amazon Cloud Drive, an online music streaming storage service that allows consumers to upload their music onto Amazon servers and listen on any web browser or Android phone. Some are saying this could give Amazon and upper hand in the digital download market, while others are saying it could give competitors Google and Apple an upper hand to tweak their (said to be upcoming) products.

Google trying to entice news viewers to watch on YouTube – Google is looking to have YouTube compete with broadcast and cable television by offering around 20 channels featuring original content that will be professionally produced and edited. With more and more people watching video, they hope to bring in a loyal and niche audience, to increase their online time and get more advertisers wanting to get in front of these consumers.

This week, Google/YouTube won! With more and more people watching videos online – we thought it was just a logical move for Google to produce its own original content on YouTube. Not only will it draw a niche audience, but it’s also a way to get more advertising dollars as these companies will want to target this audience as well. Therefore, it’s good for consumers (more places to watch the news), it’s good for YouTube (a niche audience and advertisers’ interest) and it’s good for advertisers (this will provide a new channel to target.)

What do you think?

Technorati Tags: airlines, Amazon, Amazon Cloud, Boeing 737 cracks, Google, Southwest, YouTube

PRobecast #113: Funerals, Girl Scouts & ESPN’s new blog

Alison Raymond — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 18:37:32 +0000

Better late than never for PRobecast episode #113! Topazer Renatta Siewert joins me in talking about the technology at funerals, the Girl Scouts accepting credit cards and ESPN’s new corporate blog.

How technology makes funerals more accessible – Technology is making more and more things accessible these days – including funerals. More and more funeral homes are using web cams to stream video so out-of-towners can still pay their respects without having to travel. Creepy or helpful?

Girl Scouts going high tech – accepting payments through a smartphone app – A troop in Ohio is taking cookie sales to the next level with the use of GoPayment, an Intuit product that attaches to smartphones to accept credit card payments. With less and less people carrying cash, this is a step in the right direction to increase cookie sales.

ESPN’s new blog focusing on the inside culture of the company – ESPN just announced their new corporate blog, ESPNFrontRow.com, last week. This is supposed to be the inside scoop of the employee experience and what’s going on in the office – basically their corporate culture in general. While, this in of itself isn’t PRobecast-worthy, giving a personality to a brand is. Does your blog have a “face” or spokesperson that makes your brand or company more real?

This week, the Girl Scouts won. Not only was this a good move for sales, as less people carry cash, but it also proves a theme we’ve discussed during many PRobecast – younger kids are becoming more and more tech savvy. And, this kind of tech savvy is good for business!

Do you agree with us this week?

Technorati Tags: ESPN, ESPNFrontRow, Girl Scouts, GoPayment, Intuit, Mobile Payments, tech at funerals

Google +1 Button to Compete Against Facebook “Like”

esiff — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:05:33 +0000

According to a recent report from Mashable, Google will now have a button comparable to the ever-popular Facebook “like” button called +1. After Google Buzz, I can’t help but be a little skeptical of any Google foray into social media, but perhaps the best feature of this button will be the fact that it’s integrated into the Google search engine itself.

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:

Technorati Tags: +1 Button, Content Farm, Facebook, Google, Like Button, Plus One, Search Engine, Social Media

PRobecast #111: Children’s Digital Media Consumption, The Power of Mom, LinkedIn

Alison Raymond — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 20:46:34 +0000

In PRobecast episode #111, Topazers Evan Siff, Renatta Siewert and Justin Martell join me in talking about a study on the digital media consumption of children, the power of mom bloggers and LinkedIn’s new aggregator service.

Study finds children increasingly consuming digital media – According to recent studies by non-profits Joan Ganz Cooney center and Sesame Workshop, young children are increasingly consuming digital media, and most of the time is more than one type at once. While TV trumps internet usage, the study found that 60 percent of children under the age of three watch videos online. Do you think the increasing use of digital media is a good or bad thing for children?

The power of the mompreneur – More than ever, the power of women is being shown through social media and companies trying to work with social media moms to increase awareness of their brands through their channels. Marketers have started working with these moms to promote their campaigns, however not in an overt way – they’re working to promote a two way conversation to get people thinking by asking questions. How can more brands push their campaigns this way?

LinkedIn’s new news service – On Thursday, LinkedIn announced a new news aggregator service called LinkedIn Today. This new service will aggregate headlines based on what people in a user’s professional network and industry are sharing. Users are also able to search for particular key words to see what people are sharing. This service will go head to head with Google News or Yahoo News. Do you think this new service will get people going to LinkedIn more often?

This week, mompreneur’s win! Their increasing influence among consumers and brands finally figuring out how to harness their relationships to make campaigns successful is the reasoning behind this week’s pick.

Who do you think should have won?

Technorati Tags: digital media, Internet usage, LinkedIn, mompreneurs, social media moms