I’ll start out by saying for the first post of 2008 that I don’t make new year’s resolutions. I think that goals are fluid, changing ideas, and I think it’s wrong to hold off till January to make any sort of change in your life. I do, however, take the month of January to reflect back on the previous year.
So here’s what I saw happen and what happened to me in 2007, with a few predictions for the future.
Social networking:
- I decided that Twitter was stupid. I still think it is, but I use it anyway. How sad is that?
- I pretty much stopped seeing any real value in MySpace. So did everyone else.
- I received at least 50 zombie Facebook requests. I deleted all of them.
- I finally got a pro account on Flickr (best $24.95 I spent all year).
- Facebook emerged as the all-out winner in the social networking war. I don’t think anyone can predict when/if its reign will end.
Online outreach:
- I am now, more than ever, convinced that blog outreach can work anywhere in the world, no matter how skeptical PRs can be. (Except maybe China)
- It’s not just about blog outreach anymore. There are so many more platforms to use and areas to explore. I think this is where we have the most potential in 2008.
- Traditional press releases have no business in the blogosphere
- I still don’t think it’s right to openly flame bad pitches. Instead we need to continue the education process. There are still some people out there who believe in this (thank god).
- Good PR is often invisible. Bad PR sticks out like a sore thumb. Bad digital PR stands out like a
whorelady of the evening in church
Blogging:
- I’ve stopped lurking (for the most part).
- There are too many PR blogs that give opinions without personality. Show us who you are and not just what you do. It goes along with that whole transparency thing that we’ve been hearing so much about.
- Stumble Upon boosts traffic, but only for two weeks. After that - zip!
In 2008…
- I see blogging as having less rigid categories. There will always be tech blogs and business blogs and mommy blogs, but I think we’re going to start seeing some overlap.
- More people will learn how to pitch bloggers correctly. There are so many resources out there on how to pitch bloggers. This isn’t unchartered territory anymore.
- Facebook fan pages are the next big thing.
Anyway, enough with my rambling, there’s a whole new year for that! Anyone care to add anything?
January 2, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Brilliant.
I can’t help but think that Twitter is going to get me. I don’t want it to you understand, but there is something about it.
January 2, 2008 at 7:25 pm
“Bad digital PR stands out like a
whorelady of the evening in church” - Gold.I agree with many of your points, aside from Twitter being stupid and Facebook Fan Pages being the next big thing.
January 2, 2008 at 8:16 pm
Paull,
I’ve never seen Twitter as something that is going to impact my life in one way or another. You can go two ways: Constant status
stupidupdates like “Melanie is eating ice cream” or sharing links/ mini-conversations. Most people agree that the latter is the more productive of the two, but that doesn’t mean it’s useful. I’ve yet to find something on Twitter that I’ve felt the need to share with someone else. I go, I look, I leave and most of the time I forget to come back for days. It’s novelty for me. Those who are active on it (usually by mobile), swear by it, but the rest are still left scratching their heads. Maybe if I ever get mobile Internet access I’ll change my tune.I’m curious about your fan page thoughts. I see it as a great tool to foster WOM on Facebook - admittedly a difficult feat in such a saturated market. Sponsored groups are a tough sell for clients without a big budget, but creating a free group and spamming members is prohibited. I see this as a nice middle-of-the-road alternative. I think it’s really going to take off.
January 3, 2008 at 2:25 pm
But am I really going to join a fan group just because I see it pop up that one of my friends has become a fan of something? Maybe I’m not the ideal example, but I generally think “That’s nice” and move on without clicking to find out exactly what it is (if I don’t know what it is already) that they’ve become a fan of.
Love that you’ve largely given up lurking though. Think I might take that on for 2008…
January 3, 2008 at 2:58 pm
But doesn’t it depend on what kind of fan group it is? I saw in my news feed that there was a fan page for The Daily Show (please tell you’ve watched that since you arrived) and joined straightaway.
January 3, 2008 at 4:34 pm
I don’t know if it does, to be honest. I like the Daily Show a lot. I’m a big fan of lots of things. But unless they’re going to give me lots of ’stuff’ that I can’t get from the TV show/record store etc etc, I can’t see myself getting involved.
To be fair, I looked at the Daily Show’s fansite, and it does look pretty engaging(although still not completely sticky) and could improve your loyalty towards the show. But then I picked a random other program(me) that I’m no particular fan of (Nip Tuck, if you must know) and it’s just as weak as the ‘Six Degrees of Separation’ type groups.
In terms of word of mouth promotion, I’m again not sure - you joined the Daily Show group because you’re already a fan. But is somebody who’s a friend of yours and has never heard of the Daily Show (a small subsection of your friends list, I’d imagine!) going to investigate further at any point other than the moment they see in their news feed that you’ve joined the group? And even if they DO investigate at the very moment they see you’ve joined, is the knowledge that you’re a fan (however much they trust you) going to convert to a new viewer for the Daily Show? I’m skeptical, but maybe that’s why I work in PR and marketing…
Made For Facebook video content - now that might make me think again about the whole thing.
January 3, 2008 at 4:45 pm
I am not sure what I think of Twitter, I am still using it, well, sometimes. And I also believe that Facebook fanpages are the next big thing.
Very interesting post.
January 3, 2008 at 7:46 pm
As someone who would be INCLINED to beat up publicly on a bad PR pitch to my blog, allow me to perhaps tell you why the great urge is there. First off, a blogger starts a blog because THEY have something to say. Its either an ego thing or a feeling neutered thing or a fanboi thing. I think these are the three main reasons individuals start blogs. 1) I know MORE than they do and they should be listening to ME 2) Screw those guys, they aren’t going to dictate how I do things. I’m a SOMEBODY and I’m gonna have a say. 3) The Cleveland Browns rock so much I’m going to blog about them all the time.
So when a DECIDER or PR SMOOTHIE in the industry approaches clumsily, the ego or the neutered blogger feels HA, I’m gonna show THEM who they are dealing with. They think they know so much being in PR, I’ll tell YOU about PR.
I’d have my own other reasons for beating up a bad pitch(er) after having long since being inducted into the Yahoo Comment Troll Hall of Fame you see, but before I started the City Desk I was both #1 and #2 on my list.
January 4, 2008 at 12:45 am
[...] friend, Dylan, doesn’t agree with the potential viral aspects of the Fan pages. In an earlier comment, I cited how I became a Fan of The Daily Show after having it pop up in my news feed. He replied, [...]