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Can you hear that sound? It’s the sound of a blogger revolution ya’ll! That’s right the blogging world is changing and I predict that this year we will see some things really come to surface. From money to marketing, bloggers are savvier than ever before and we all need to get with the program.

I spend quite a bit of time reading tweets, blog posts, etc. which are all about the blogger/public relations dynamic. After covering this territory for years, here’s what I think will go down in 20-11: Read the rest of this entry »

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The folks over at 12for12K, which strives to change the world through social media and which has been mentioned here, in one manner or another, over the last few months certainly have their hands full only 15 days into the new year.

Following the massive earthquake that hit Haiti in recent days the group partnered with Hope for Haiti to raise funds for the relief effort.

So far the 12for12K-ers have raised $4,160, but there’s an anonymous blogger who will donate $1,000 if the group reaches $7,000 by Sunday.

To further up the ante, 12for12K supporter and professor/entrepreneur Amelia Maness-Gilliland will donate 100% of all sales from the first five people to buy her Resume packages – details here.

Additionally, Mr. Danny Brown (12for12K founder) himself and some other folks may be offering social media audits at a reduced price with all fees going to the charity and there may be some Headway theme magic in the works. As it stands the group needs under $3,000, less than $1,000 per day to hit the $7,000 mark.  Let’s make it a happy Friday, great weekend, and let’s work on making this anonymous blogger $1,000 poorer.

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This week I sat down with Danny Brown, social media strategist for Maritz Canada, founder of 12for12k, and friend. Danny get’s his daily fix from little coffee shops like, Second Cup or Muddy Waters but says he really starts his day with PRBC’s e-mail updates. (Note: I quickly learned he’s a charmer).  He boasts about being a geek and says his favorite pastimes are messing in WordPess or playing video games (sorry PS3 lovers, he plays on Xbox 360 or Wii).  In addition to his Recommended Reading, you can catch Danny laughing to off-the-cuff humor blogs like F*ck You Penguin and his wife’s Just Kickin’ It.  It was a real pleasure picking Danny’s brain for a little bit, and I hope this chat inspires you just as much as it did for me.

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ShareBlogging now, party of one If you had come to me a month ago and asked about my blogging experience, I would have sheepishly admitted to merely reading blogs and been quick to point out that I did not comment on them, despite an often overwhelming temptation to do so. Fast forward a month and I’m blogging for the #PRBC and for Co-Communications (http://cocommunications.wordpress.com/).  So why the drastic change? Some conversations cannot be restricted to 140 characters.  While one could conceivably labor over dissecting their message into multiple 140 character tweets, it isn’t the same as a carefully drafted, thorough response.  Blogging affords the opportunity to leverage media placements, visuals, multimedia and commentary in a cohesive message that is carefully packaged to best illustrate a point. In part, this is why the #PRBC is blogging—because all of our perspectives, experiences and tips can’t be crammed into 140 characters . . . and because we know that some topics warrant an in-depth conversation. Some points needn’t be explained . . . and so we call them tweets! While it only takes seconds to craft a tweet, it can’t always carry an entire message.  So we stick to the messages that can be effectively delivered in 140 characters.  Examples of such include links to interesting articles with a couple of words stating your opinion on same, reactions to an event or experience, small talk, tips, and witty banter. It doesn’t take a blog post, or blog comment, to communicate the basics or point others in the direction of valuable content.  And in many instances, we just want to encourage others to look at something—form their own opinions—and pass the content along.  All of which are effectively and succinctly communicated through tweets and retweets. Point . . . Counterpoint While Brown’s examples of #journchat (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23journchat) and #blogchat (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23blogchat) (and to which I will add the recent #prstudchat (http://search.twitter.com/search?q=%23prstudchat)) have effectively sustained dialogues on Twitter, I firmly believe it’s the nature of the content that allows these forums to succeed on such a concise medium.  With #journchat and #blogchat, it’s the strength of a question and answer format that allows them to thrive in a 140 character format.  For #prstudchat, it’s the question and answer format coupled with the fact that most answers come in the form of tips. Inversely, were #prstudchat to pose questions which asked for both tips/advice and illustrations of the importance of each, it would be better suited to a blog dialogue, where messages could be conveyed in comprehensive responses, not bound by a 140 character limit. Speaking of points . . . . So after all of those examples and comments, I must have a point, right?  (At least we hope I do!) Blog comments and tweets aren’t competitors.  They are merely different models for delivering a message, each of which has its own merits.  So what’s your next step?  Comment on this post if you want to have a dialogue with me, or start what could become an in-depth debate.  If you just want to say you read it or share a tip with your tweeps, package it inside a tweet.

After reading Danny Brown’s recent post ‘Is Twitter Killing Blog Comments’ I couldn’t resist answering the last question he posed – ‘What’s your take?’

While I could go on for paragraphs rallying in support of Twitter and defending its merits as my social media platform of choice, I’ll spare you the cheering and keep it simple: Blogs are for dialogues.  Twitter is for snippets!

Blogging now, party of one

If you had come to me a month ago and asked about my blogging experience, I would have sheepishly admitted to merely reading blogs and been quick to point out that I did not comment on them, despite an often overwhelming temptation to do so.

Read the rest of this entry »