Mutually Inclusive PR

Krista B. Blogs the Junos

I met Krista Baliko at a podcasters' meetup last year, (even though neither of us is a podcaster), so I like to watch her progress working at the CBC Mother Corp.

Good to see she's got a blog this week, as she posts about the goings-on in Saskatoon around the JUNO awards. The awards show time has been yo-yo-ing around, while organizers battled with CTV to avoid having the awards broadcast hours past prime time in Atlantic Canada. Sanity has been restored, and the show will start two hours early this Sunday.

Check out Krista's Juno Blog, for some behind the scenes action. I haven't seen any shocking celebrity news there yet. No Nelly Furtado hissy fits about the temperature of her bath. No Jian Ghomeshi throwing a phone at a bellboy.

C'mon, Krista, there's dirt out there to be found, you're just not looking hard enough!

I used to work with Krista's mom. (Hi Joan!)  Also, I'm finally able to provide a bit of link love to my spouse, who is coordinating a JUNO section of the Saskatchewan CBC website. Don't forget to pick up some milk on your way down from Saskatoon, honey.

I was just on the site tonight being a one-person focus group, and thought the photo galleries are the best items so far. Go CBC.

Tags: saskatoon, juno awards, krista baliko, jian ghomeshi, nelly furtado, blogs

Social Media - Where to set up shop?

Ed Lee looks at the three options for reaching an audience with social media.

Building your own hub of activity has its risks.

The Web wasteland is strewn with ghost towns that thought they would become the next great portal.  I like Ed's idea of experimenting before making a final decision about where you want your content to be, and how people will find it and interact with your organization.

Says Ed:

clipped from bloggingmebloggingyou.wordpress.com Should you join a community or start your own? As someone advising clients on how to market using the Web and social media, it’s the ultimate existential question. 1. Joining the Community 2. Grow your own 3. The alternative While the ultimate goal is to make your organization a trusted source of information, a leader in the field and the hub of a community of passionate users, the first step is a small one. Find out where the conversations and chatter around your brand are and get involved. Interact with your customers and stakeholders. Have a real conversation with them. Once you’re part of the community you can start to Instigate. Lead those conversations, become the reason for the buzz and the source of the chatter. The BMBY recommendations (for) building a community Monitor. Assess. Interact. Lead Look>Listen>Learn>Lead Get: Informed; Immersed; Interactive; Involved; Instigating (previously i-ddicted)

Sports Writers Tell it Like it Is

Sports writers are sometimes underestimated. How hard can it be to write up a game?

David Shoalts found a good way to measure the impact of the three-day suspension of New Jersey Devils' Cam Janssen.  Calling it a 12 minute, 36 second suspension, Shoalts multiplies the player's average ice time per game, multiplies it by three games, and voila.

You  can fill a book and still not make a strong, clear point like that.

Stu Cowan of the Montreal Gazette wrote a similarly strong column recently.  He pointed out that Ryan Smith, the tearful Edmonton Oiler who found himself traded at the last minute, had turned down a $27 million offer, because it was short of the $27.5 million he was asking for.

Smyth tried to make the trade look like a betrayal of his status as a home-town hero.  If he was that worried about it, Cowan writes, he could have taken the deal.

Both writers cut through the crap and make their points economically.  We should all do as well.

Tags: sports, new jersey devils, montreal gazette, edmonton oilers, david shoalts, stu cowan

Gary Goldhammer on New Comms Forum

I didn't get to the New Communications Forum, but at least I can experience it vicariously and ironically, via Gary Goldhammer:

clipped from belowthefold.typepad.com I got to sit on a Viral Marketing panel with the guy who directed Clerks and Chasing Amy (oh wait, sorry, that was Kevin Smith, not Chris Heuer) I learned how to pronounce Kami Watson Huyse’s name. It’s “Wat-Son.” So simple! Phil Gomes wore a tie. More significantly, it wasn’t a clip-on. There were lots of monologues about the importance of conversations. Being “engaged” is also very important. Unfortunately I’m already married, which interestingly also kills conversations (at least the kinds of conversations I can win.)

I've Been Busy Blogging, but not Here

Sorry to regular readers for my long absence.  I've been getting into the groove of daily postings for b5 media on Common Sense PR, and have been neglecting my duty to inform and entertain you.

For a quick view of what I've been up to on the other blog, check out the Top 10 Posts for the past three months.

I've missed my more relaxed writing on this blog, and am hoping to post here several times a week for the foreseeable future.

Anyone who wants a refund of the subscription fees, please send me an e-mail to arrange payment.

Tags: blogging, b5media, common sense pr, top10