September 2008
95 posts
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You're Getting Your Health News Online, Aren't... →
A new Pew report shows that 75% of Internet users look for health information on the web and what they find online is affecting their decisions about how to treat an illness or condition. For better or for worse, doctors report that “patients aren’t learning from Web sites — they’re learning from each other.”
- Cody
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93% of Americans Expect Companies to Have Social... →
A new survey found that 93% of Americans believe companies should have a social media presence, and 85% think companies should also interact with their customers online via social media. Interestingly, men are twice as likely as women to interact frequently (one or more times per week) with companies via social media.
—Alyssa
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Letting Our Fingers Do the Talking →
At the end of 2007, Americans cellphone users for the first time sent text messages more than they phoned, according to Nielsen Mobile. I definitely do this — I get annoyed when people call my cell phone to ask a simple question they could have just texted. My roommate Billy is especially difficult to communicate with, since he refuses to text, on principle.
—Alyssa
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Entrepreneurs Using YouTube to Increase Marketing
US News & World Report small business blogger Matt Bandyk called attention to a recent Forbes article regarding how a small commercial blender maker, Blendtec, started posting YouTube videos of the product called “Will it Blend?” and started winning over the market that was once monopolized by longtime rival Vita-Mix. The short videos show a demonstration on whether the Blendtec...
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Are You Addicted to Social Media?
46%
Take the quiz!
—Alyssa
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All the News That's Fit to Tweet →
A recent article from the American Journalism Review explores the current role of Twitter in media, and interviews several journalists who use the microblogging service for business purposes. Although skeptics don’t believe that Twitter can be used for work, it really can — I just booked an interview today through a reporter query on Twitter!
—Alyssa
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An easier way to get around NYC →
Getting around the city can be tough sometimes, so I’m glad that the city and Google got together to make our lives a little easier. City officials and Google founders met at Grand Central Terminal yesterday to launch Google Transit – an online feature they said “would transform the experience of navigating NYC’s transit system.” The online service automatically offers options...
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Tell All - All Campus Tour →
This weekend’s New York Times Magazine featured an article about a new website called Unigo. The site was founded by a young entrepreneur who decided to capture some of the college guidebook market by giving a voice to students and alums. The net result is that prospective students get to learn about the colleges and universities they are interested in applying to directly from current...
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NYTimes.com enhances tech reporting
NYTimes.com recently launched its new technology vertical, which foregrounds the coverage on its Bits blog and adds additional content from three highly-respected tech blogs: VentureBeat, GigaOm and ReadWriteWeb.
While I was working at The New York Times, this was a major, company-wide initiative, so I’m excited to see all new features they’ve added.
Read about the...
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Twitter Is Growing Like Crazy →
As if you couldn’t tell from all the Twitter-related news lately (especially on this very blog!), Twitter’s traffic is growing extremely rapidly. The 2.3 million visitors it got in August showed a 422% year-over-year growth!
—Alyssa
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BlackBerry a Fave Bed Buddy →
This is why they call it a CrackBerry. According to a new survey by Sheraton, 87% of PDA-owning professionals bring their BlackBerries into their bedrooms, and 84% check them before going to bed and as soon as soon they wake up in the morning. In fact, 85% of business travelers say they sneak a quick peek at their personal digital assistants if they happen to wake in the middle of the night. I...
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The Web Is All A-Twitter
Everyone seems to be trying to replicate the success of Twitter lately. Besides Yammer, which Tom recently mentioned, there’s Edmodo (the Twitter for education) and Gospelr, the Twitter for Christians. These niche sites further demonstrate the need for Twitter groups, as the success of Twitter Moms has also shown.
—Alyssa
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Yammer →
Yammer, a Twitter-like application made for companies, allows users to post work updates throughout the day so their colleagues know what they’re up to. Networks are open only to people with valid company e-mail addresses.
-Tom
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Tips To Promote Your Blog
Wall Street Journal small business reporter Kelly Spors provides tips from blogger Darren Rowse on how to effectively promote a blog. Rowse has 13 tips himself on his blog at ProBlogger.net.
-Mike
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Twitter This & Twitter That →
An amazingly comprehensive list of over 150 Twitter-related applications, Firefox add-ons and links.
—Alyssa (via rodrakic)
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5 Reasons Your Business Needs a Blog →
Five justifications for starting a corporate blog. Good thing we already have one!
—Alyssa (via rodrakic)
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Profnet Queries Through Twitter
You are no longer at the mercy of when the next ProfNet e-mail will appear in your inbox with a fresh set of new queries from reporters..
You have the opportunity to get up-to-the-second ProfNet queries on Twitter! ProfNet has just set up a Twitter account at http://twitter.com/profnet.
-Mike
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Microsoft Attempts Repositioning Using Apple's...
To help reposition the brand and fight the stereotype portrayed in Apple’s advertising, Microsoft is using Apple’s “I’m a PC” line in their own ads, in the hopes of turning the stereotype on its head.
The advertising campaign includes teaser ads (which are already running) featuring Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates and an overarching campaign theme of “Life...
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Microsoft and others make case for display ads →
Display and banner ad sales have been on the decline, but Microsoft and other large companies are making the claims that they are more effective than search advertising.
- Cody
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Yahoo tests new home page that allows users to... →
Yahoo is testing a new home page that dials down its content and allows users more freedom to customize and incorporate content from other sites.
- Cody
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Some colleges evaluating social network pages of... →
Colleges are paying more attention to applicant’s pages on Facebook and MySpace as part of the admissions process – 10% of admissions boards have looked at applicants’ pages on social networking sites and 38% said what they saw negatively affected their views of the applicant.
-Cody
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Metered internet? You could have to pay for that... →
Internet companies and providers are toying with the idea of limiting users’ Internet availability by packaging time online by setting limits on usage and charging customers who exceed the allotted time and file size.
- Cody
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Google still struggling to conquer outposts →
Although Google has taken over most of the planet, there are still a few countries who insist on resisting and using local search companies.
-Maria
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Google Program Uses Facial Recognition for Photo...
Google’s Picasa has brought photo recognition software mainstream to help users organize photographs by the people pictured.
USA Today does a good job of explaining the technology in layman’s terms and touches upon the implications on privacy. Although this is an opt-in feature via tagging, it does seem to be an application that may share more information than some users feel...
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A Widget by Any Other Name Is...An Application →
What’s the difference between a widget and an application? Apparently, nothing. And “application” is becoming the favored terminology again with the rise of Apple’s iPhone App Store.
—Alyssa
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Not Happy With The New Facebook Design?
Newsday strongly dislikes the new Facebook layout and offers ways to revert back to the old design.
The Fast Company magazine message board allows people to voice their opinions on whether or not Facebook made a big mistake by changing the design.
-Mike
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Cheat sheet: SEO →
Not sure what SEO is all about, or even what it means? Check out this handy cheat sheet for SEO newbies.
—Alyssa
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“I’ve probably made every PR mistake in the book….But ultimately, I...”
– Julia Allison, in PRWeek
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Microsoft-backed social network gets walloped →
Marginal social network Wallop, which had backing from Microsoft, just bit the dust. The demise of these social networking start-ups proves that it’s harder than it looks to be the “next Facebook.”
—Alyssa
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Boomers on Facebook →
A recent study shows Baby Boomers are making their way onto social networking sites and shifting toward youth-centric things on the web. However, they are going to the sites for different reasons and are less likely to interact with others.
-Cody
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Twitter provides an easy connection to consumers... →
Twitter provides a “foot in the door” with key media and bloggers, offering a succinct view into how they feel or what they are working on at any given moment. Unlike other social media, Twitter requires a commitment, so PR pros need to be ready to engage in conversations over a long period of time.
—Cody
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Facebook Political Ads Test Limits →
Since anyone can create and purchase an ad on Facebook, MoveOn.org has created campaign ads using WSJ and AP stories about Republican candidates. It’s difficult for readers to determine who developed the ad, leaving many news organizations worried that they’ll appear biased.
-Megan
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Goodbye AP? →
With print media struggling to hang on, publications are turning to smaller papers with fewer sections. Decisions like that could have catastrophic effects on the Associated Press. BuzzMachine reports that yesterday’s New Jersey Star-Ledger was printed without any AP stories.
It’s one more nail in the heart of the AP as other papers cancel their contracts and more threaten to.
-Danny
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How to Blog for Your Business—the Good and the Bad →
Bill Marriott’s blog: good. British Airways’ Twitter: bad.
—Alyssa
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