The Blogosphere is Beginning to Welcome India

In the work I do every day, the news is out there-- companies that were once hesitant to even mention the word "blog" are now starting to turn their heads and actually consider the possibility of establishing a corporate blog, or at least strategize with agencies like mine on how best to reach out and begin conversations with targeted bloggers.

To say that corporate blogging and corporate interaction with bloggers is new...is pretty much false. Companies all over the world are taking interest in the new media space like IBM, McDonald's, Infosys, etc. The newest batch of blogosphere neophytes are Indian marketing firms that have begun to see the amazing value in social media.

With a booming population and a high number of teenagers in India, the marketing value of blogging and other types of social media are key to reaching students, general interest readers and potential employees. The article, found on Asia Times Online, sets its sights on India's Tata Interactive Systems blog. Tata is a developer of e-learning solutions with a major global presence. TIS took the leap and created a blog that allows the company to create global dialogue, offer up news and information directly to readers, share company photos, etc. AND IT WORKED!

Stories like this make me feel positive about the direction of the Web....(and wonderful about my job security!) So long as clients continue to ask for counsel on social media, there will always be a place for people like myself to offer advice on how to enter the ring with a cautious stance and an open mind.

Comments welcome!

2008 Presidential Debates Turn to the Net

Presidential debates are nothing out of the ordinary. Since early on in our nation's history, political opponents have squared off in these battle royales to see who can speak better and politically pee farther. 2004 of course saw the first use of blogging technology. And we've all taken it in, at least most of us, and we all wait patiently but excitedly for the next great debates in four years.

While many of us will stay glued to our TVs this campaign season to see which candidate will reign supreme at the podium and hopefully deliver us from the last eight years, I predict that twice as many will be glued to their computer screens sometime after Labor Day to watch the first ever online presidential debates.

As Monday's post by Harry McCracken points out, one Democratic and one Republican candidate will be chosen to participate, and viewers will have the ability to upload video questions for the candidates. At the helm of all this will be Charlie Rose, and DNC chairman Howard Dean will provide the opening remarks [Insert that primal scream of his here].

As far as content format goes, that remains yet to be determined....eh, announced. I imagine the organizers would use some sort of high-bandwidth streaming video like CNN Pipeline uses.

For anyone who works and/or tinkers in social networking or new media, this is a must-attend.

Apologies for the delay

Greetings all,

Sorry for the delay in getting more posts on here, I recently got a puppy and to say the least, Molly's been quite the handful! I only have so many hours available in the day (and only so much carpet left), and anyone who's either raised a puppy or a baby knows what it's like to be sleepless and vigilant over its every move!

I'll be back in the high life again, so please stay tuned!


-Brian

Custom Scoop CEO publishes "7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers"

Last month, Chip Griffin, CEO of Custom Scoop, published a white paper discussing what he calls the 7 Deadly Sins of Pitching Bloggers. For anyone out there looking for some excellent tips on how to --and now not to-- pitch a blogger, this is a must-read.

Here's the list in a nutshell:
1. Failing to be transparent
2. Appearing to bribe
3. Lacking your own blog
4. Making a bad pitch
5. Being scripted
6. Forgetting "everything is on the record"
7. Making claims that can be easily disproved

All of these are valid points and good guidelines to follow. The last thing you or your client wants is either a nasty response or worst-case, a public lashing for failing to communicate effectively. Point is, be careful and you'll ensure a smooth ride.

Happy Reading!

MMM... Cookies

Not to push one political agenda or another, but, the Oreo Cartoon is another interesting example of ways that new media is being used to promote political ideologies. This cartoon is non-threatening, fun and DELICIOUS! Get ready for your MySpace wall to be bombarded with hundreds of similar sketches come November ’08. Now if I could just get my hands on the milk cartoon...

Major MAJOR steps taken in DRM history today

In a "take the bull by the horns" moment of triumph, EMI announced with Apple today that the companies will begin providing DRM-free music on Apple's iTunes Store. The downer is that these songs will cost $1.29 while DRM-protected music will still cost $.99. While DRM-free music isn't a new fad for EMI, the day has finally come when digital music consumers are actually being heard and major record labels are finally starting to understand what motivates us to use P2P networks as opposed to buying a CD that costs $20 for one or two songs that we enjoy.

As an avid iPod user, I've definitely taken a drink or several of the iTunes Store kool-aid and have been very happy (and sometimes even surprised) by the amount of music available to me as a consumer. What's plagued me and so many other music lovers is the interoperability issues surrounding the purchase of DRM-protected music. True consumer freedom in the digital music space would mean being able to legally acquire a song and be able to use it in as many ways as possible, so I'm very happy to see that at least one mega record label has opened the way for a more community-style digital music scene.

P.S. Apple/EMI -- I'm a ridiculously huge Beatles fan and would like some tunes available sometime in the next hundred years.

Expect the blogs and podcasts out there to be hot on this subject for a while, at least until the RIAA has another temper tantrum. In the meantime, please see my post from February for further details on the issue.

Thanks, Phil!