I will never be one of those people who criticizes MTV for no longer playing music videos. I understand what MTV does, really I do. MTV is focused on doing cutting edge entertainment, and music videos are no longer the leading edge.

Think about it. MTV had reality TV before everyone else, they had prime time cartoons before everyone else, they had celebrity news long before it became the staple of six o’clock TV. MTV is about trying things that haven’t tried before.

That is why I am not surprised to see MTV video blogging this Super Tuesday. MTV has armed a group of attractive young adults with the amazing Nokia N95, the same camera/phone/awesomeness that Reurters’ reporters are armed with, to take to the street and do some in the field reporting.

MTV is uploading the videos directly from the phone to the web in a very bold move. These videos are unedited raw opinions of people on ‘the street’. Sure, the MTV reports will most likely seek out a certain type of voter, but the effort is noble. MTV is trying to cut out the journalist from reporting.

This is experiment is a fine example of using social media in the mainstream. MTV is using mobile technology to bridge the gap of time that is normally very prevailing in main stream media. Simple things like production time cause news to be old before it even hits the air waves.

I would like to see more media companies try this. I would really enjoy seeing CNN or Fox news start broadcasting on Seesmic or on their own websites. Real time news or op/eds might be something that could draw me back to mainstream TV.

Could this new form of reporting work as a way to get you to watch more television? Or do you think this tool will remain a technique of websites and new media? Let me know.

Many critics of social media claim that it is the masses screaming to be heard, not in a good way. At its core that is a major problem for social media. Many of the blogs and news feeds that get the most traction aren’t always the most newsworthy or the most important.

I friend of mine asked me to check out a website that was trying to incite change through web 2.0/social media tools. The site, ondayone.org, is trying send a message to who ever the next President is that these are the the issues that he/she should try to solve on day one.

I am a huge advocate of non-profits using social media and web 2.0 as a tool for helping spread a message. I have written about it several times in the past and I will continue to follow non-profits in the hopes that they see social media as the catalyst it can be. The site is being backed by several non-profits, most notably the UN Foundation.

I have never been one to talk politics in public. I have my political views and I have always respected those of others. What I would like to hear a discussion on is if you think what ondayone is doing can be accomplished. Young voters, typically the early adopter crowd, have a history of failing to come out and vote. For some reason they have failed to show poll numbers that make them a target for winning politicians.

For ondayone to be a success it needs to link voters with activism. The site needs to use social tools to send a message to those on the campaign trial right now that these are the issues we are interested in seeing covered. I applaud ondayone for what they are trying to accomplish. I wish more non-profits would try to elicit change by using social media.

Take a look at the site, give it a once over, and let me know what you think. I am interested in hearing a discussion on if you think the tools that ondayone is using will make a difference. Lets not make this into a discussion of which issue has the most merit, there are plenty of political blogs for that, lets have an open discussion on the feasibility of their mission and if we think there are any other tools they could be using to get their message out.

We all know about the Digg effect, very similar to the Slashdot effect. When something is Dugg, and reaches the front page, a swarm of traffic comes to your website that can crash your servers. A massive amount of people and bots will view your ads and your content like never before. Marketing gold right?

I started the morning by reading an article over at E-Consultancy about why it is a bad idea to pay for a spot on Digg. I didn’t know this but according to Patrick Altoft, the article’s author, there are companies out there that will guarantee you a spot on Digg’s front page for a small fee.

I did some looking around and I found a few sites that promise to get you on Digg for as little as $35 to as much as $150. I was all set to upload my latest masterpiece video of my friends trying to jump a moving car on a tri-cycle when I asked myself what would I be getting if I paid for a spot on Digg.

I would probably get tens of thousands of visitors to my site. My site would probably crash but I would reach people sitting at their desks trying to do anything but work, score! These people would think about me and my tri-cycle for maybe 4 seconds until the went on to the next article. Then my article would get buried because those who control Digg, the users, would realize I payed to get on the front page.

I then started to think what would happen if I earned a spot on Digg’s front page. I would slowly earn exposure, probably have to submit several articles, and actually learn what my targets were after. I would also have to invest a large amount of time and money (money=time) to figure all this out.

What this argument comes down to is time and investments vs speed questionable results. After reading several more articles on how to ‘earn’ a spot on Digg I realized that buying a spot does present a certain value; it is like paying for a press release for the wires. Tons of quick exposures and some lasting traffic if you have quality content.

I am still up in the air about paying for content on Digg. I see the value of ‘flash’ exposure but I also see the value of earning a spot on the front page. What do you think about this? Is paying for a quick exposure worth it on Digg or do you think that the only value can come from earning a spot? Let me know.

I love talking with non-profits. They typically are very passionate along with being willing to try new and exciting things. I was talking with a friend of mine who works at a large PR firm focusing on non-profits and we started chatting about business. She contested most non-profits don’t know how to operate in the digital world and I rebutted that they do, they just need to tweak their old methods a little.

Let me explain, social networking is nothing new, the human race has been creating social networks since we first realized it was easier to hunt together than alone. Digital social networks are based on principles rooted in classical networks, just accelerated online. I began to relate the new digital techniques to more classical non-profit tools.

Tagging

The Old Way: Growing up in the city I always remember seeing stickers and tags placed around the city in support of some social cause or another. These stickers were quick and dirty ways to spread a message and a non-profits’ supports could carry the stickers around and tag at will.

The New Way: Digital tags are no different. Creating digital tags that your supporters can put on messaging boards, forums, home pages and social networks generates similar reactions to tagging a subway sign or bus stop (aside from the fact that tagging is technically illegal). I have always been a fan of tagging because it allows for interaction at the lowest level and creates exposure.

Meetings

The Old Way: Meetings (in the sense of mini-events) are the essence of any grass roots social campaign. Meetings allow users to engage with other like minded individuals and share ideas. Meetings also build a sense of community and give the host a chance to pass along informational fliers and packets.

The New Way: Digital meetings can do the same, compliment your physical meeting by streaming it online and hosting a chat session. Even the most novice computer user can set up a free chat room with free video conferencing. Allow users to submit comments and follow up with them by sending packets of information and digital tags to their email.

Publications

The Old Way: Once you have a movement going you need to send your information to the masses. Typically this means printing posters, fliers and books. Nothing keeps a movement going like tangible media in the hands of people who want to pass along your message.

The New Way: Digital copies offer similar results but at a fraction of the cost. Think about this, handing out a book or flier to someone who is in your town is simple, find them and give it to them. What if you want to send it to someone in California or Alaska? Why not send them a digital copy of your book with a coupon or credit to get it printed at Kinkos? Using this model you can give someone two copies of your literature (digital and hard copy) at a fraction of the cost.

Public Service Announcements

The Old Way: In the past network television stations had time slotted for PSAs. These slots were normally during the worst hours and only reached the unemployed or the chronically late. Production cost were high and often the reach was negligible.

The New Way: Today content is king, and the internet is the station. Creating low budget PSAs that have an interesting viral hook can get more results than any TV spot could. Create a fun, low budget, video clip of your PSA and host it on several free video sites. Focus on the message not the production. Then using your new network of contacts inform your waiting public that their new video has arrived.

These were just few examples I came up with last night while chatting with my friend. I am sure there are a million more techniques out there that non-profits already know how to do and only need to transfer them to the digital world.

Can you think of any? Let me and the rest of the world know, we would love to hear about them.

Darren Waters over a th BBC’s dot.life has presented an interesting article about a potentially revolutionary application called Seesmic. The creator of this software, Loic LeMeur, believes the future of online video is not the standard Youtube/Google Video type model, based on broadcasting, to more narrow casting style.

The model, for lack of a better term is very Twitter like in theory. The long and short of it is this: you send a video to friends on your list, and they reply, I am no rocket scientist but this is a video conversation with no intended target. The pipe dream is that multiple conversations will be built off of a single thread or question.

I like the idea, but I see it having two major flaws, video and anonymity. One of the things I love about twitter is going mobile, tweeting from my phone creates some of the best conversations. To be honest if I am in front of a computer I might as well use some chat client that is much more efficient than twitter.

Video is still not the greatest thing from mobiles. Sure my Q can handle streaming and receiving video, most mobile phones are still sub-par when it comes to receiving streaming video from an online source. Most phones can receive ‘clips’ but the take a bit download and are cumbersome to manage.

The other problem I see might arise is the question of anonymity. People like to blog and chat because there is a certain level of security based on the fact that you hide behind a keyboard. Sure, some people out there like to post video blogs, and have video chats with strangers in other countries, but the bulk of us techo geeks like to hide behind our keyboards.

I could be a complete 180 off on this one. Let me know what you think. Do you think the Seesmic service will take off?

Tameka Kee, over at Online Media Daily, just posted an interesting article on the effectiveness of bloggers on traditional media. The study alleges out of 180 journalist surveyed in multiple industries less than half believed that new media had a ‘very or somewhat’ effect on their reporting quality.

Juxtapose that figure to the fact that the report boasts almost three-quarters of journalist said that new media had a ‘very significant’ impact the speed of news reporting.

At first I threw my hands up in utter disbelief until I read an interesting paragraph towards the end of the article.

“In terms of the survey demographics, the majority of respondents (45%) were business journalists, while 34% hailed from various industries like gaming, government and politics, and community news. Just 2% and 4% of the respondents worked in the tech and lifestyle industries, respectively.”

Putting these facts into perspective shows why a low percentage of journalists see bloggers and new media as a viable source of information makes much more sense. Traditional businesses, much like traditional media, more often than not wait for the early adopters to map out techniques before adopting themselves.

All things being equal we are seeing a larger percentage of traditional journalist bridging the gap of social media and blogging as a way to complement their work at their respective publications.

Could the study be right? Are bloggers and new media services making less of an impact than they think? Or is this just the beginning of a demographic shift in the way media views ‘new’ media?

Lena West over at InfoWorld is preaching to the choir when it comes to widget applications in the world of social media. For as long as I have been looking into the world of social media I have tried to find the utility in programs instead of just adding application to add them.

Knowing a thing or two about social media application development, Lena’s words struck a chord with me that not only helped me smile, but proved that I wasn’t the only one out there who had these thoughts on social media applications:

1. Refine your social media strategy.
2. Visit and post comments to other, complimentary blogs.
3. Examine your social media metrics.
4. Develop an editorial calendar for your social media efforts.
5. Work with a social media expert to make sure you’re getting it right.
6. Just take a deep breath and chill.

Point 5 is by far the most important point; speak with an expert on how best to use a social media tool. I have worked in PR/Marketing for years and I can’t think of a company that would enter any kind of media/marketing campaign without consulting an expert, social media is no different.

Don’t think for one second that just because and application you create is going on Facebook that the item you create isn’t a direct extension of your brand and your public voice.

I also agree with point 6, chill. Social media is here to stay, it is not some flash in the pants fad that you are going to miss the boat on. Relax, take a deep breath, drink some coffee (if you’re the coder) and develop a widget that people will like to use.

Many of you out there have your own opinions on social media widgets and I would love to hear them. Let me know what you think.

The Toronto Star just published an article focusing on a police injunction and a gag order. The sum of the article is that traditional media had been issued a gag order, a legal decree silencing the media for a short period of time based on investigations integrity, revolving around the death of a young girl named Stefanie Rengel.

Gag orders are a tricky thing in the world of journalism. Typically journalist want to be the first to break a story, especially a sensational story of 14 year old girl getting murdered by two other teen age girls, the problem arises when minors and crucial information is involved in the case. Nine times out of ten a journalist will agree to remain silent for a period of time if the police request it, but some times legal action is needed and a court can issue a gag order.

The issue focused on in this case is that the death of a minor can not be released with out permission from the child’s former guardians. While traditional media did not release the name of the slain girl, several Facebook tribute pages sprung up.

Legally the police can not take action unless the families file a formal compliant. Since the pages are ‘tribute pages’ I highly doubt the parents will complain. This case however is another example where bloggers, facebookers, and web publishers need to be aware that they are entering the world of public communications and there are many legal ramifications to that.

I grew up in NY and PA, my father was a NYC police officer and when he retired we moved to PA. Living in this area I was exposed to skiing, something I never actually did, but saw plenty of cool guys do it. Ever winter all the cool kids would break out there cool skiing jackets that happened to have years of lift tickets attached to the zipper of the coat. One look at the coat and you knew two things, this kid was cool and they skied.

You might be asking why is this important for networking and marketing, well the answer is simple… Where is your lift pass? At a recent launch event I picked up a small key chain from a company called Utterz. The key chain was a small cow that had ‘be heard’ written on it, genius, almost.

The Utterz cow is a great lift pass, I gave it to my girl friend who promptly put it on her keys where it will die I am sure. It will have a great life, a few people might even ask what it is for, but it still isn’t as effective as the lift pass. Why you might ask, because it still isn’t attached to her phone. The lift pass worked at saying someone was cool because it was directly associated with an object that was needed to conduct a cool activity.

What is your lift pass, well that really depends on what you do. Most people have a generic lift pass that they hand out at networking events, their card, but the successful lift passes are ones that separates you from the herd. Maybe its your twitter account, maybe its a custom ring tone that you can send to people, or maybe its your blog. The point is what ever you decided to make your calling card it has to say, “here is my lift pass and you are cool if you have it.”

If you have a cool lift pass let me know, I love hearing about neat things people do to market themselves.

I got my start in this business working in Public Relations. I attended a fine school for PR and worked several jobs in PR ranging from PR Firms to a stint at the Pentagon as a Communications Specialist. One thing I learned about PR is that many start-ups have some ill conceived notions of why and when to use PR.

I recently had a conversation over the phone with a friend of mine in NY about a start up he was launching and I offered him some free advice.

1) PR is not free marketing:

Many times start ups envision PR as a way to get free marketing. In fact PR is more expensive than marketing and offers no guarantees about exposure. A TEAM of PR profesionals can work for weeks with little to no results. Nine times out of ten a start up is better off purchasing some very targeted ads instead of spending thousands of dollars trying to get one newspaper placement.

2) Do you even need PR:

PR builds public awareness through 3rd party creditability; this can be accomplished through Analysts or Media Relations. If you are not trying to sell the world about how great you are don’t worry about the media as much as the public. Targeting the public can often generate more ROI in the first few years of a company than any review in a paper can.

3) If the press is a must, KNOW YOUR PRESS:

When I worked in PR everyone one in DC wanted to get in the Washington Post. I often said asked why and came to this conclusion, narcissism. Everyone wants to boast that they got the Post and show it around the office. Who cares, sure the Post reaches everyone and there grandmother, but if you’re not selling to my grandmother why waste the time and target her. Trade publications and target media can give you much great ROI than the carpet bomb that is the major print media.

4) Manage your expectations:

One thing I love about start ups is the passion. The men and women who work in start ups give there all and believe more than anything that their product or service is the best in the world. Realistically you are not selling sliced bread or reinventing the wheel. If you reach out to a journalist or an analyst and they say your service is junk, don’t fly off the handle and think they have no idea what they are talking about. The reason you reached out to a journalist is because you wanted their opinion, why ignore it because you don’t agree with it. Reliaze you will have to win people over and SHOW them why you are great.

5) Choose a firm with care:

Realize that no two PR firms are the same, if you choose to hire an outside PR firm do your research. Some PR firms just push press releases, which is a fine service if that is what you want, others that are more expensive offer costly advice and council; great if you intend to use that advice. Look for past clients of a PR firm, talk to them and really understand the PR firm before you sign the dotted line.

While none of this advice is set in stone they are some simple things to consider before launching into the world of Public Relations.