Blog Straight Talk

User Comments

1. 

   9/20/07

   Rich

   Hey Tony,
   
   Great question. It deserves more than a single response but I'll toss a few concepts out there now...
   
   Tracey Clark, who blogs MyPapers, was recently quoted in Communication Arts as saying that “the blogosphere is all about Internet links that move faster and more efficiently than the traditional word-of-mouth advertising.” She's right and it applies to Jericho.
   
   Jericho was the fastest show cancellation reversal in history and, in my opinion, is significant benchmark in entertainment history. The reason is simple. Never before had a fan base been so able to mobilize and determine a clear, concise message that galvanized every major media outlet within two weeks. I recently interviewed a few Jericho bloggers (Jane included) and they added a lot about the power of consumer-generated marketing but also an overlooked and unspoken commitment that demands attention: those who benefit from viral marketing reciprocate by nurturing the buzz they create. CBS risks loosing a very influential group if the become frustrated.
   
   While I would like to say Jericho was the first major indicator that social media could be a major world influencer, in my opinion, that credit really belongs to Wee Shu Min.
   
   When Wee Shu Min, the teenage daughter of a Singapore member of parliament, stumbled across the blog of a middle class Singaporean who wrote that he was worried about losing his job, she thought she’d give him a piece of her mind. She called him “one of many wretched, under motivated, over assuming leeches in our country” on her own blog and signed off with “please, get out of my elite uncaring face,” a post that received international scorn and had such an impact that the Singapore government paid out S$150 million to about 330,000 low-income workers five days before its next election. That is a significant outcome that has changed the course of history.
   
   Of course, I do not mean to undersell Jericho. There a great deal to learn from it, even though some of my colleagues are quick to dismiss it because it was a show cancellation protest. For now, I’ll share one idea that is already benefiting BlogCatalog — the blog for hope post contest model actually came out of contest I ran for Jericho fans. The results were impressive.
   
   Plus, I’m not sure if you know it Tony, but they’ve come together to support the Bloggers Unite Challenge. Jane, specifically, has been instrumental in adding to some buzz.

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   1. 

      9/22/07

      yourPRguy

      You make an interesting point. Let me give it some historical perspective. The Gutenberg Press was to Martin Luther what blogs are to us. Without the press Luther's theses -- a common practice of posting them -- would have sparked an academic discussion at best or fallen on deaf ears at worse.
      
      While we live in an era with powerful communication tools, we have seen other examples of their use. Many issue-driven blogs have a neo-conservative point of view, which has been good for Republicans.
   2. 

      9/22/07

      Rich

      I've always liked the Gutenberg Press analogy, but maybe it's really bigger than that. Gutenberg put books and printed material in the hands of people. However, it did not put publishing in the hands of every person.
      
      Hmmm ... I'm not sure I get the political point as a connector to the Gutenberg Press analogy. There are probably an equal number of the liberal and conservative blogs and many, many more without a political agendas. If we want a historical context for that, Yellow Journalism rings a bell.
   3. 

      9/22/07

      yourPRguy

      Yellow journalism, yes. David Brock in The Republican Noise Machine says that of the political leaning blogs, many are conservative.
      
      The beauty and power of blogs is that it does put "publishing" in the hands of anyone who wants it. I suspect, though, as most things in this work, eventually to access blogging as a tool, we'll have to pay for it.
   4. 

      9/22/07

      Rich

      Ah ha, how lopsided of you to say. "we'll have to pay for it." ... you mean "be taxed for it."
      
      I see a world where fine bloggers will find revenue streams based on their merits like Godin. If you like the blog, you can visit the blog for free. If you love the blog, you can buy the book or the service or the product or the premium feature. And many of them, if they do make money, can use that money to do good in the world.
2. 

   9/21/07

   TonyB

   Those are really interesting insights. I have never heard about Wee Shu Min.
   
   If this is a taste of things to come, I really can't wait to hear more from you
   
   Regarding Blogging for Hope, I'd like to share a link, with your group, to your Blog for Hope Post Contest
   
   copywriteink.blogspot.com/2007/09/blogging-for-hope-blogcatalogcom.html
   
   I'm very aware of the support coming from the Jericho fans community. I see posts, almost on a daily basis, supporting BlogCatalog and the Blog Community Challenges. I wasn't aware that Jane was behind this buzz

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3. 

   9/21/07

   Rich

   Thanks Tony! Great idea.
   
   BTW, Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff said CBS' new approach recognized that TV shows are social -- fans talk about shows, so the key for networks is to make sure that conversation happens on their websites.
   
   www.latimes.com/business/printedition/la-fi-cbs20sep20,1,2480301.story?coll...
   
   Convergence. Darn. I was wrong. Last August, I said it would start to happen in 24 months. It only took 13.

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4. 

   9/21/07

   TonyB

   Rich .... probably still 11 months away. They are talking about it but do they really get it?
   
   This quote leads me to think they don't quite the level of interaction and conversation they need to be successful in social media, "The key lesson from Silicon Valley is respect for the audience," said Jonathan Barzilay, senior vice president and general manager of entertainment at CBS Interactive."
   
   The word "Respect" seems so distant, so formal, so unengaged.

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5. 

   9/21/07

   sweat1951

   We can have conversations on their website all day and yet they tell us to go forth and bring in new viewers. I don't believe they yet respect their audience or they would be doing things much differently. I don't think one hand knows what the other is doing. They are distant, formal, and still unengaged in my opinion.

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6. 

   9/22/07

   Rich

   One of my friends in radio doesn't believe in convergence because of the ratio of one to many. Bandwidth. I think there are workarounds.
   
   I agree that you have valid point Tony. CBS may lead the rhetoric but will not lead the revolution. They are disconnected from their viewers as Jane can attest.
   
   But I think what is significant about their rhetoric will drive others to reinvent at a faster pace. Until the Apple fiasco, I thought it would be NBC. Fox still seems promising. But perhaps more significant than the major networks are places like Current.tv and others who are forging ahead. Sooner or later, some folks will be producing shows or networks of shows that cable companies will want to pick up (and that doesn't even consider the iPhone breakthroughs). There are other players in the wings too. AT&T wants to enter the cable market in a big way and one of their unique selling points will be to offer original programming that you cannot get anywhere else. Where can they find it? The Internet.
   
   There are other ideas out there too. I helped put the foundation together for one (they are dead set to move forward with convention routes). So perhaps I should clarify that total convergence is far ahead ... but didn't anticipate networks would ratchet up the promises so quickly. And that means its happening faster. Add to this: Ad spending on the Internet soared 17.7% to $5.5 billion; where it is down in all other mediums.

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7. 

   9/24/07

   markstoneman

   "That is a significant outcome that has changed the course of history." --- Really? That sounds like hyperbole to me. I also hear how YouTube has already changed things greatly, but I wonder. Yes, a certain candidate did not become senator in Northern Virginia. And McCain looked goofy with his "Bomb, bomb Iran" Beach Boys ditty. But has that really changed the nature of politics in this land? It might elsewhere. But news and opinions got around this country pretty fast before the internet.
   
   "I've always liked the Gutenberg Press analogy, but maybe it's really bigger than that. Gutenberg put books and printed material in the hands of people. However, it did not put publishing in the hands of every person. " --- I still think the printing press was more revolutionary than the internet has been, at least up till now. The difference between no printing and printing was a starker one than the difference between pre-internet and post internet. Mass mobilization was possible without the internet. Indeed, now the internet might even be providing a real alternative to getting out on the streets and protesting. The internet might make it more difficult to control a message too.

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   1. 

      9/24/07

      Rich

      Used correctly, I think the Internet can be extremely effective in managing the message. The question is do those who are supposed to manage the message know how to control it. Frankly, most do not.
      
      I think it was extremely significant in Singapore because parliament's decision, which was based on an outcry that began on the Internet, resulted in changing the outcome of the election. Here in the states, the examples you mention may not have resulted in that kind of response, but then I look at what happened to John Edwards and his decision to hire bloggers Amanda Marcotte and Melissa McEwan, which resulted in eroding his base. The way that was handled was the beginning of the end of his campaign; and made it virtually impossible to defend himself against Ann Coulter's disparaging remark.
   2. 

      9/24/07

      markstoneman

      Gotta run, but could it be that the difference was starker in Singapore because it has a different political culture? Will the difference become more noticeable in more authoritarian political cultures?
      
      I don't mean that this stuff doesn't matter in this country. I'm just cautioning against hyperbole.
   3. 

      9/24/07

      geoliv

      I definitely see Pr folks as unconvinced because they are likely to lose their jobs if they don't play ball.
      
      In my mind, blogging -- or the creation of easily accessed digital presses -- fulfills all the hype of the Information Superhighway and is the greatest enabling tool for democracy ever. The Guttenberg press brought intellectual enlightenment, the blog brings true freedom of expression.
   4. 

      9/24/07

      Rich

      I don't think that case study is hyperbole — I don't think their political structure had anything to do with it Mark. As many as 30-40 percent of Americans will be turning to the Internet as their primary source of political information in the 2008 election.
      
      That almost puts bloggers on the same footing as media. That's why the New York Times is opening up their publication and saying goodbye to paid Internet features. They want to remain relevant and even they said that more and more Americans prefer to search for their news online than subscribe.
   5. 

      9/24/07

      markstoneman

      Not the case study, your language, specifically the phrase, "has changed the course of history"
      
      And as for the printing press bringing enlightenment, well, there were a couple of centuries of religious war between the take off of printing and the Enlightenment. --- Not that that is necessarily relevant here, but if you're going to use the analogy, might as well include that detail.
   6. 

      9/24/07

      geoliv

      Well, if you want to be technical those wars haven't stopped. Further, I'd take religious wars,: Fighting for the right to believe in any god (30 years war) over a unified medieval Catholic church. But where there is man, there will be war. Religion is just a cheap excuse.
      
      As to education, I cannot see how knowledge or interaction of ideas has ever hurt people. It's how people use those ideas for their own political and power-driven purposes.
   7. 

      9/24/07

      markstoneman

      I won't comment on the war remark, but you are dead right about education. That's been my point. More of the stuff doesn't automatically lead to progress (or its opposite). But I don't mean to hijack this discussion. I'm coming at this from a historians point of view ( historysurvey.blogspot.com/search/label/progress ), and Rich's use of the term "history" got me going.
   8. 

      9/25/07

      Rich

      Mark, of course I mentioned history. Your presence in invaluable.
      
      My phrase "has changed the course of history" is spot on in this context. The money that the Singapore government gave their people, the election results, the reaction to the events and the events that lead up to the crisis ... all of it has made a lasting ripple on the time line. There are a ton of people who were impacted by it.
      
      Sept. 27 will change history too. I don't toss these phrases out loosely; well, okay, sometimes.
      
      Rich
8. 

   9/24/07

   markstoneman

   Something else occurs to me. Would dinosaurs in the PR industry be more easily convinced if they were approached with less hyperbole about the subject?

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   1. 

      9/24/07

      Rich

      I think most, but not all, of the 20 percent of public relations who are already in social media are contributing to the hyperbole. MyRagan, for example, clowns it up quit nicely. They have some relevant stuff, but you have to get past the hype.
      
      When I meet with people about social media (and I'm more engrossed in strategic communication than social media), the first thing I have to do is dismantle some of the existing misconceptions about it. We all create our experiences online. For example, you can have a successful blog that never gets caught in a blog drama.
9. 

   3/17/08

   markstoneman

   Kevin started a relevant thread on this subject here: www.blogcatalog.com/discuss/entry/the-machinery-of-hope Whether you want to take that up here or start a new thread is your call.

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