Technology has reached a point where I am no longer looking for the news. The news finds me. (continue reading)

In this week's Roundtable, Albert Maruggi, Chip Griffin, and Jen Zingsheim discuss the varying approaches different companies (and employees) take to responding to social media. "Bob," Motrin, and Toyota's "Saved by Zero" ad campaign are covered. (continue reading)

The breathless blogosphere is at it again, excoriating a company who deigned to get involved in online communications without pleasing everyone. Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Motrin, apparently posted an online video ad over the weekend suggesting that Moms who carry their kids might get back pain and benefit from the drug for relief. (continue reading)

Web analysts love to have their metrics as neat as Scrooge McDuck's piles of gold coins. When web measurements do not add up, they become obsessed in determining why, just as McDuck would in trying to find a lost coin. If you're watching this unfold, it can be amusing. If you're trying to figure out where your web visitors are coming from, it's like a Rubik's cube with 45 different colors. (continue reading)

This week Jen Zingsheim and I welcomed Bob Ledrew to the Roundtable. We tackled topics ranging from inappropriate use of tragedy to cash in on an agenda to how the location of the Summer Olympic Games starting today may have affected the public relations surrounding the event. (continue reading)

Jason Falls recently had an interesting back and forth with measurement guru Katie Paine regarding social media measurement. Is it possible to record social media impressions, as with traditional media? Read on for their analysis. (continue reading)

Yesterday Cuil, a brand new search engine, launched and boy did bloggers notice. Look at any tech blog and you'll find an opinion of Cuil. Either it's a Google killer or a failure. Regardless of the fact that Cuil is a day old, the comparisons to Google are widespread, and it's hard to write an article without doing the Cuil vs. Google dance. Why? Because Cuil is begging people to make that comparison. (continue reading)

Many thanks for Scott Monty for this post--let's all say it together: you can't just invent a viral video. You can try your hardest to create something that's valuable, interesting, and that you hope will catch fire on YouTube, but nothing is guaranteed. Also: PR vs marketing, the power of female bloggers, and the importance of monitoring strategy. (continue reading)

At Edelman's recent Academic Summit, Karen Russell was especially interested in the session on monitoring and measurement. As a monitoring company, so are we! She posts a great roundup of the session. Also: A terrific case study from Jeff Glasson, and more Twitter complaints. (continue reading)

What makes a successful bloggers? Darren Rowse rightly eschews this question at first, pointing out that no two bloggers are going to possess all the same qualities. But perhaps there are a list of traits that a successful blogger could possess. He offers 12 examples; did he get them all? Also: Social media ROI, and finding the time to blog. (continue reading)

It seems like it in "online reputation management week," but since I last wrote about this in Media Bullseye last Monday, I have stumbled upon (pun intended) some additional discussions about this topic. Read on for Part 2 of my reputation management series. (continue reading)

Is bad press is better than no press? The saying goes...but is it really true? Adages like this have been around business for ages. Most people know them, repeat them and offer them as consolation to friends and colleagues as appropriate. Until it happens to them... (continue reading)

CustomScoop will be attending the upcoming Roundtable on Social Media measurement in Toronto, spearheaded by Joe Thornley of Thornley Fallis Communications. Up for discussion: the Holy Grail (or is it the Nessie?) of social media--measurement. (continue reading)

More and more, mainstream media sources are relying on user-generated content for stories, particularly online sources. Dan York reports on a local news station in Vermont which has been very active on Twitter. Also: Citizen journalism and defining news, and signs you need to pay attention. (continue reading)

Maybe Twitter wont be around to see 2010, yet many major brands have moved in to communicate with consumers and the world via Twitter: H&R Block (Finance), 10 Downing Street (The UK equivalent of US "White House"), Zappos (Online Retailer) and countless others like BBC News to Yahoo's Marketing Team and Amazon.com to the New York LaGuardia airport. Is this wasted energy by the PR/Marketing offices of H&R Block or even US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama's social media team? (continue reading)

The guys from the Shill Podcast joined me on the Media Bullseye Radio Roundtable this week to discuss some of the big stories in the social media scene. We had a terrific discussion on everything from Comcast surging onto the social media scene, representing unsavory clients, and how to protect your personal brand during online attacks. (continue reading)

Which social bookmarking site is best for your blog? Sometimes it might not always be the biggest or most popular, but the one that appeals the most to the audience you wish to target. Also: Is social media making us dumb? Balancing work and Twitter, a cool new Twitter tool and the social media glass ceiling. (continue reading)

Social media isn't a tangible product that you can pick up from the corner store, and wouldn't be nearly as effective if it were--so why are some folks attempting to market it that way? Also: Is PR responsible for the press release's irrelevance? And Twitter keeps its SXSW crown for another year. (continue reading)

We welcome another new addition to the Pod Jots lineup this week, as Sarah Wurrey dives into the Diva Marketing Talks podcast from Toby Bloomberg. Also featured are our usual rundown of the best of the PR and marketing podosphere for the week. (continue reading)

2007 saw and early 2008 has seen the birth of many new social media tools. Tools that actually have functionality and make our jobs easier. Mike Driehorst tackles the latest tools out there for social media professionals. (continue reading)

New in today's Jots: those Verizon commercials may be annoying, but Paull Young has used them as inspriation for some good advice for digital natives entering the work force. Also: more from Toronto, teaching blogging, and the Golden Rule. (continue reading)

Microsoft has developed a new method for tracking the success of online advertisements. The tech giant's newest tool, dubbed Engagement Mapping, is said to take a comprehensive approach to measuring consumer interaction with advertisements before a sale is ultimately made. (continue reading)

Anyone following social media trends is probably aware that the need to monitor this space closely is an essential element of any brand's reputation management efforts. dna13 has recently launched Release 7, software designed to ease monitoring efforts. (continue reading)

With all the sites and tools that Twitter has spawned, one of the more interesting (and useful to newbies) is the wiki for "Twitter packs." But Dave Fleet worries that the idea, while good, isn't fool proof, and may cause problems. Also: Interactive content, and print media still alive and kicking. (continue reading)

Let's face it, the reason that many people found themselves interested in a career in public relations is precisely because they didn't care for math. Yet Katie Paine's new book, "Measuring Public Relationships," will turn any natural resistance you might have to measuring things on its head. (continue reading)