Insights for Leaders Navigating
Visibility, Credibility, and Growth.
From media strategy to reputation management, we explore the trends shaping public perception and share the approaches that drive measurable results for growing brands.
Many of our clients are in the technology industry, so we often work with tech bloggers. These bloggers have become increasingly influential as customers look online for advice before making big purchases. And while there are many important tech bloggers, a few stand out as the most influential. So without further ado, here is our list of the top 10 most influential tech bloggers (in no particular order):
1. Duncan Riley, The Inquisitr – Duncan launched several of his own blogs before joining TechCrunch and eventually started his own site called The Inquisitr. This site offers a daily mix of tech, pop and fun stories from around the world.
2. Erick Schonfeld, TechCrunch.com – Erick is co-editor of the popular TechCrunch blog and appears regularly on CNN and CNBC.
3. Henry Blodget, BusinessInsider.com – Henry is CEO and editor and chief of the Silicon Alley Business Insider, a blog that covers – you guessed it – business in tech mecca Silicon Valley.
4. Marshall Kirkpatrick, ReadWriteWeb – Marshall is the vice president of content development and lead writer at ReadWriteWeb, a popular tech blog.
5. Michael Arrington, TechCrunch.com – Michael is the founder of TechCrunch.com and has written over 200 blogs for the site. He writes about breaking technology news and Silicon Valley startups. He is one of the most well respected and followed tech bloggers.
6. Mike Masnick, Techdirt.com – Mike is the editor of Techdirt, and blogs daily on his opinions about trends and technology.
7. Om Malik, Gigaom.com – Om founded Gigaom, which reaches 1.75 million people per month. He has received numerous awards for his blog and often writes about emerging technology.
8. Robert Scoble, Scobelizer.com – Robert founded top technology blog Scobelizer and posts opinion pieces about the industry. He has worked for Microsoft and Fast Company in the past.
9. Thomas Ricker, Engadget.com – Thomas blogs frequently about opinion, news and new products on this top tech blog.
10. Walt Mossberg, All Things Digital, WSJ – Walt is both an influential blogger and journalist for the Wall Street Journal. He created and has been writing the Weekly Personal Technology column in WSJ for more than 20 years.
Seattle blogger John Cook also deserves an honorable mention. A former writer for the Seattle Post Intelligencer, John is co-founder and editor of TechFlash.com. His site covers technology, startups, venture capital and other Seattle tech news.
The Web changes at a rapid pace, so this list will probably change over time. Do you follow any of these bloggers? Are there any you would add? Please let us know.
Dedicated journalists across the nation are refusing to quit – even when they’ve been laid off. In a New York Times article, David Carr reports on a new journalism trend spurred by this economy: newsrooms owned and operated by journalists.
These newsrooms have a few marked differences from those run by top daily newspapers. There are no editors or administrative staff, no printed editions or deep pockets. And no money. These journalists are so dedicated to their work that they’re writing for free.
NewJerseyNewsroom is one such outlet started by journalists who had been laid off from The Star-Ledger in Newark, New Jersey. A group of 40 journalists came together at a public library in January 2009 and created the site without any financial support. Says the site’s “About Us” section,
“We have won every award and distinction from the Pulitzer Prize to the New Jersey Press Association Journalist of the Year. Our contributing writers, driven by passion and purpose, contribute as volunteers who believe in the cause.”
The site went live in mid-April and has since received more than 51,000 page views – a number that surely increased after the New York Times piece ran. It boasts a few ads, but journalists are not paid for their work. The site is incorporated, and should it someday become profitable the founding members will receive a share of the company.
I found the site to be professional, clear, relevant and insightful. At first glance, there doesn’t appear to be much difference between NewJerseyNewsroom and the sites operated by major daily newspapers.
Carr reports that there are several similar sites in San Diego, Minneapolis, Denver and Chicago – perhaps evidence of a growing trend, especially as the newspaper industry continues to suffer.
But without editors and resources like photographers and fact-checkers, will quality suffer? Perhaps, but these journalists are devoted to their craft and are invested in creating a reputable news source. It is in their interest to maintain credibility by continuing a tradition of honest reporting.
Public relations is closely tied to journalism and seismic shifts in the media landscape directly impact our work. On a high level, new sites such as the NewJerseyNewsroom aren’t likely to make a big difference in PR. We will still pitch the same reporters and topics – only the publication name will change.
But it will be important to remember that journalist-run newsrooms have limited resources, so expecting a journalist to fly across the country for an interview or send a photographer to your offices may be out of the question. For the same reason, they will likely focus on local news. Pitches should therefore have a strong local angle.
There may also be increased opportunities for byline articles. As we wrote in a previous post, byline articles can be an excellent way for companies to establish thought leadership and retain ownership of their messages. Thoughtful, relevant and non-self-promotional byline articles written by knowledgeable executives could make a great addition to journalist-operated newsrooms.
We commend the devoted journalists who start their own newsrooms, and will keep close tabs on this trend and its impact on PR.
The Wall Street Journal Editor Robert Thomson recently told the Financial Times that the publication plans to introduce a micro-payment system for individual articles and premium subscriptions to the Web site this fall.
The WSJ‘s premium plan will target readers interested in niche industries including energy, commodities, wealth management, and more. It will place more focus on urban areas and take advantage of weakness among outlets in metropolitan areas like San Francisco and Detroit, where local publications are struggling.
As the fee structure is implemented, many anticipate that the Web site’s audience will also change. Bill Zucker with Burson-Marsteller tells PRWeek, “Readers who pay on the spot for specific articles will be more invested in the topic and not just casual readers.”
So what does this mean for public relations professionals and companies who want to pitch a story to the WSJ?
Pitches will need to be more focused and creative to fit into a niche story.
Pitches will need to be tailored to include not only national angels but also local angles, depending on the focus of the story.
PR professionals will need to take a strategic and creative approach to demonstrate why their story would inspire readers to pay.
This will provide a unique opportunity for companies to track and analyze what kinds of information and stories are resonating well with their target audience.
As the media landscape continues to change, many online publications will look to implement a fee structure in order to stay afloat. According to the Financial Times, several newspapers are following the footsteps of business newspapers by looking for ways to charge for Web content.
As this trend continues, make sure to stay updated on which publications charge for content and what kinds of stories reporters are interested in.
In order to ensure your pitches are reaching the right editors or journalists and sparking their interest, consider these tips from our past blog entry about How to Pitch a Reporter.
With the onslaught of new social media technologies, many marketers are trying to look ahead and prepare for what’s next. But given its rapid growth, how can we predict the future of social media?
According to Forrester’s Jeremiah Owyang, the first step is to look at the problems inherent in today’s social mediums. By noting what’s wrong today, we can imagine tomorrow’s solutions and anticipate what’s next.
What is wrong with social media today?
Says Owyang, “Today’s social experience is disjointed because consumers have separate identities in each social network they visit.” He goes on to suggest that the future holds simple technologies that enable people to carry the same identity with them across all social mediums – whether its Twitter, Facebook or Digg.
People also will turn to others online and rely on their advice when making purchasing decisions. This trend is already evident in online product review forums such as those on Amazon and CNET, but Owyang suggests it will continue, “whether or not brands choose to participate.” By making their voices heard online, consumers will continue to influence the direction of future products and services.
In the future, content will be even more personalized than it is now. And while this could be a marketer’s dream, brands must tread carefully. After all, consumers will have the power to make or break online campaigns, and they will likely voice their frustrations en masse in real time. It will be important for both marketers and PR professionals to have a crisis strategy in place, or to update their existing crisis strategy to integrate social media tools, in order to quickly and effectively respond should this happen.
The recent anti-Starbucks Twitter campaign is an excellent example of how customers can turn against a company’s online campaign. A documentary about Starbucks union-busting practices debuted the same day as the new Starbucks-sponsored Twitter campaign. The Starbucks-sponsored campaign involved placement of advertising posters in major cities, and sought to use social networking by challenging people to hunt for the posters and be the first to post a photo of one on Twitter.
Filmmaker Robert Greenwald hijacked the campaign to spread information about Starbucks’ labor practices. Greenwald encouraged customers to upload photos of themselves protesting in front of the Starbucks advertisements onto Twitpic and tweet them using the hashtags #top3percent and #starbucks – the official hashtags designated by Starbucks for its contest. Within hours, dozens of Twitpics had been uploaded essentially upstaging Starbuck’s efforts.
The campaign may have contributed to a phase-out of the Starbucks promotion. Says Greenwald, “I don’t know if it’s connected or not, but a few hours later after we sent in pictures of people with suggestions for [Starbucks CEO] Howard Schultz to be more fair to his workers, I think the rules were changed and at least that phase of the contest was ended.”
So how can you prepare?
Don’t hold back. As we wrote in a post about Twitter, companies cannot afford to sit back and watch social media mature before participating. Social media is ever changing, but the connections you forge now with consumers and peers are likely to hold no matter what new tools and platforms materialize down the road.
Consider current perceptions of your company before launching a campaign. Perhaps if Starbucks had taken the time to determine public sentiment around their brand on Twitter, they would not have been in this situation.
It is also important to understand where your company is in its lifecycle because this impacts perceptions. People tend to view startup companies very differently than global Fortune 500s such as Starbucks and Microsoft. Corporate giants must tread carefully to establish credibility with customers.
We also advocate transparency online, especially when blogging or commenting on other blogs. As the Web becomes more personal and transparent, honesty becomes one of the most important traits a brand can possess when interacting in social mediums. By connecting with consumers in a transparent way to forge relationships and create evangelists for your brand, you’ll be set up for success not matter what the future of social media brings.
What are your thoughts on the direction social media will take in the coming years?
Recently we have been helping the Seattle Children’s PlayGarden with a Twitter fundraising campaign to complete the construction of various projects, such as Mount Jordan, a volcano-themed climber that is even accessible to children in wheelchairs. The PlayGarden is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing a place for both mentally and/or physically disabled children and their normally developing peers to share a safe, stimulating and fun playground environment. You can read more about the campaign here.
On Friday, June 5, King 5 News aired a segment about the PlayGarden and its campaign. Reporter Carolyn Douglas interviewed Eli Stitchin, an autistic child, and his family about the park. This piece does a terrific job of highlighting why the PlayGarden is so important to Seattle families – directly from kids like Eli. His favorite playground toy is the “spinning seat,” because “I always feel like I’m somewhere else when I’m in there.”
See more of Eli’s interview and some footage of the PlayGarden by clicking here.
With summer vacation fast approaching, the many kids will benefit from the new PlayGarden construction. We hope you’ll take a few minutes to watch this segment and consider making a donation to the PlayGarden. You can donate by clicking here.
In yet another example of how businesses are engaging Twitter, Threadless T-shirts has partnered with Twitter to crowdsource designs for a new line of “Twitter Tees.” Twitter users submit and vote on tweets to appear on Threadless Tees. Says Cam Balzer, vice president of marketing at Threadless parent company Skinny Corp, “The beauty of crowdsourcing is the audience really markets the products themselves.”
Threadless has set up a Web site specifically for the campaign, where anyone with a Twitter account can vote on which tweets should appear on the Tees. So far, the campaign has been a success. PR Week reports that within the first few hours, Threadless already had more than 200,000 votes.
As companies like Threadless are quickly discovering, Twitter provides an excellent avenue for crowdsourcing. For the uninitiated, crowdsourcing means asking an undefined, large group of people to complete a task that might have traditionally been performed by an employee. The iPhone App Store phenomenon is a perfect example of how crowdsourcing can lead to great results for companies, developers and consumers.
For businesses looking to secure feedback or input from customers, crowdsourcing can be an invaluable tool. And with the advent of Web 2.0, barriers to entry are extremely low.
Should your company crowdsource to achieve business objectives? Consider these benefits of crowdsourcing and whether they align with your goals:
Speed. Problems can be solved quickly, and often at a comparatively low cost.
Payment. Businesses pay the “crowd” by results – if they pay them at all. For many contributors to crowdsourcing projects, the simple kudos of having contributed to something important is reward enough.
Talent. A company has access to a wider pool of talent than their employees or contractors.
Insight. Businesses secure immediate feedback from customers.
Kinship. The crowd develops a personal relationship with the brand.
So how does crowdsourcing work? Check out this flowchart compliments of Wikipedia:
We will be interested to see whether other companies follow the lead of Threadless and crowdsource via Twitter.