Image by FoxTongue A recent study “Harnessing the Power of Blogs,” (sponsored research by BuzzLogic and conducted by JupiterResearch, a Forrester Research company) found that blogs can have more impact on purchase decisions than social networks. Social networks help people connect, but blogs create a conversation and become a trusted resource that influences purchase decisions says the [...]
Image from Poynter.org A sign of the times: After 100 years of news in print, the Christian Science Monitor has decided to scrap the daily print issue of its newspaper. They’ll focus on making their site a rolling news service and printing a weekend magazine. The change is expected to cut annual costs by millions of dollars for [...]
twitter A lot more people — and businesses — are finding ways to get value out of Twitter, says the WSJ today. Doctors are using Twitter to update patients about office hours. Local groups such as the Los Angeles Fire Department are using it to share details about service calls with interested residents, occasionally [...]
Image by Orange Beard Back in 1940 Paul Lazarsfeld did extensive research on the effects mass media had on people. In contrast to the commonly held idea that the media had a strong influence on most people, Lazarsfeld’s team discovered that in fact some people receive more information and influence others. Some members of the [...]
Image by Roland According to the 2008 State of the Blogosphere from Technorati, a little more than half the companies in North America do not have a blog. So that means that just under half do. Why are they spending their time blogging? Lynette at the MIndless Babble Blog says that based on the Technorati numbers, blogging should [...]
The biggest caveat in engaging in social media and blogs is to be open, honest and authentic. Every major social media flap has been caused by companies or agencies doing something questionable. And there really is no place to hide. Sooner or later someone will figure it out. Patrick Altoft writes on Blogstorm about some possible astroturfing being [...]
Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere is being released this week, one segment each day. For the first time, they’ve surveyed bloggers directly about the role of blogging in their lives, the tools, time, and resources used to produce their blogs, and how blogging has impacted them personally, professionally, and financially. Interesting stuff. The majority of bloggers [...]
Peter Kim, posted a list of brands that are using, or being affected by, social media marketing. He invited others to add to the list in the comments and as of the 18th October it’s grown to 270 brands. A great resource. I took a look at what categories these brands fall into and what percentage of [...]
Image by Wade Rockett Hats off to Jeff Jarvis for his post about new media and journalism It certainly set the cat amongst the pigeons, and has generated a flood of contentious comments! So often when the substance hits the fan we cry “Not my fault!” It’s refreshing to see someone who looks the changes [...]
Paul Gillin, author of The New Influencers, writes a great social media report. Today’s issue is about why PR practitioners must learn to get their news content visible in search, but one fact caught my attention: 95 of the top 100 newspapers now have a blog. Nielsen/NetRatings reports that unique visitors to the largest Internet [...]
