Your Ad Here
Strategic Public Relations
Adobe recently caused quite a stir by announcing that it would be integrating paid advertisements into PDF documents created in its various platforms. In response to what he terms the "visual pollution" of the world by ads everywhere from backpacks to baby strollers, Kevin Dugan wonders what they'll think of next. He offers a few tongue-in-cheek suggestions, from putting ads on everything from the Washington Monument to headstones. "During your next plane flight you might see an ad as you takeoff or land. Air space is now prime ad space?! It's enough to make me sick (courtesy of CBS). And now, even police cars are sporting ads. Uh, Tim Horton's, Krispy Kreme and Dunkin Donuts, what are you waiting for? It'll get worse before it gets better. How bad will it get? Here are five places I (don't really) think we'll see ads placed in the future."

Lonleygirl15 and the Blair Witch
Canuckflack
In response to a terrific post from Todd Defren drawing parallels between the Lonleygirl15 YouTube phenomenon and the revolutionary online marketing campaign for the blockbuster 1999 film "The Blair Witch Project," Colin McKay wonders if social media consulting has grown out of a need to avoid coming off as disingenuous. Quoting one of the producers behind the Blair Witch campaign, he notes that YouTube users felt betrayed by Lonleygirl because they'd become emotionally invested in her character, Colin points out that many "normal people" think of PR and marketing as just another way to screw over the general public, even if they are necessary elements of business. Perhaps engaging socially is a way to build kinder, gentler images. "No wonder that a whole segment of specialists are building a separate identity as community managers, community liaisons, or even community curators. There's more of a hint of social work in their functions and goals, and less of an emphasis on moving product."

Ads in the Long Tail
Six Pixels of Separation
Viral video and other elements of digital marketing have changed advertising, particularly in an era (as previously noted) when advertisers are clamoring to get their ads in front of as many eyeballs as possible. But are advertisers considering just how long their content remains online? Mitch Joel points out an example, noting that the hugely popular "Terry Tate Office Linebacker" Reebok campaign from a few years ago is still thriving online, and criticizing Reebok for taking down their official Terry Tate site--missing an opportunity to take advantage of the Internet's long memory. "Marketing was about one-night stands. The Digital Marketing world has changed it to a relationship where Marketers can't just scream their messages at Consumers. And, as Seth Godin points out, Marketing has shifted from a "how many" to "who" model. I fear that traditional advertising people just don't take the time to think about time."

Scatterbrainy
Chris Brogan
Admitting that his previous few posts had been a bit all over the map, Chris Brogan points out that like life, social media can be messy. Messy usually comes off as a negative, but does it have to be? After all, some of the best ideas come from random brainstorming sessions, and sometimes a jumble of thoughts turns into an excellent blog post. Chris points out the multitude of new tools and additions to the crowded social media landscape this year, all there to help us sort through the mess while appreciating what it has to offer us. "The point of all this thinking and what-iffing and wondering aloud to a group of people who are no doubt shrugging or clicking past me by now is just this: we are creating something more than the individual bits of information that we spill out into the Internet. It's ours to shape, to make into larger, more meaningful, more impactful things. But we have to think of it in those ways first to do so."

Blognation's Marc Orchant Suffers Heart Attack
Tech PR Gems
On a somber note, Doug Haslam reposts a Blognation report that well-respected tech blogger Marc Orchant has suffered a massive coronary and has been hospitalized. Marc recently participated with Doug in an excellent roundtable discussion on social media and PR, and we wish him all the best for a full recovery. "Please join us all at Topaz Partners in wishing a speedy recovery to one of the finest people in the tech blogging world (why did I even bother to qualify that?), Marc Orchant. He suffered a massive coronary Sunday, Dec. 2, and is in the hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as I write this."