The Wall Street Journal has a great article on how Facebook can ruin friendships when online buds share too much information. For those that use Facebook and Twitter on a regular basis, personal information overload is all too common: who really cares if you’re having your (gasp!) third cup of coffee since you got to work? Unfortunately, many people don’t stop to think if their friends or followers give a hoot about the minute details of their lives. Either that, or they might subscribe to the theory that it doesn’t matter if their online friends and followers care; it’s their profile to share what they darn well please.

There’s a valuable business communications lesson here: no matter the platform or channel by which you communicate your message, always stop to ensure it’s relevant to your audience. Sure, you might want to toss in a few tweets about what’s happening at the office in order to break up the stream of industry news, trends, key messages and more, and that’s fine. Just pause before you hit “update” or “post” and think about whether or not your little bit of wit is relevant.

• RT @cydneyw: Direct quote from @Jaredroy at 10:48 am CST “Stop putting me in a box!!!!” Direct quote @ 10:49am “Back that thing up” – #fail #
• RT @ctiedeman: 4 days and counting. For these kids, Zero means EVERYTHING. http://www.zerokidswaiting.org/bajasol.htm Please retweet. #
• Are Social Media Rockstars An Endangered Species? Or The Future of Advertising? http://ow.ly/n8vt #

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Do you ever find yourself wondering if there are undisclosed motives or hidden agendas behind the media you consume? Though probably not correct, having that suspicion can turn consumers off to a particular journalist or media source entirely.

On a recent visit to AllThingsD.com, a Web site devoted to news, analysis and opinion on technology, I discovered that the site’s contributors are taking a surprisingly up-front approach to laying it all out for readers “in the age of suspicion of the media” (as they put it). Each of the main contributors to the site has a page containing their individual Ethics Statement outlining their personal ethics and coverage policies, leaving pretty much no question unanswered.

The detailed statements explain the journalists’ roles as contributors to the site, how they get tech product samples and what they do with them after testing, and where their own personal technology comes from. The statements even address notions about being influenced by companies they cover, outlining that they do not accept any form of compensation from those companies. Some of the statements have a lot of personal information about the journalists, down to their personal investments. And since the site is owned by Dow Jones, the statements also assure that the journalists adhere to the Down Jones Code of Conduct.

So are there any hidden motives or agendas behind the site’s news, analysis and tech opinions? The detailed information provided by these journalists in their Ethics Statements works hard to squelch any suspicions readers might have and builds credibility for both the journalists and site.

Personally, I appreciate the honesty and transparency – it’s quite refreshing. I’d love to see more members of the media do the same.

• Today at Risdall, Adapt or Die seminar, using hashtag #adaptordie – All about seo in a changing environment #
• Google, Yahoo, Bing are top 3 search engines. Crossed 10 billion searches in June for first time EVER #adaptordie #
• Recent Trends: add social media to mix, longer search terms, local search vs. yellow pages, more & easier access 2 analytics, – #adaptordie #
• Tip: Value of MN agencies is well beyond those from big agencies or on the coasts when hiring a online marketing agency – #Adaptordie #
• Ask : What is website goal? what r accomplishments? are right visitors going to site? why have a website if no one goes there? #adaptordie #
• Are your site goals in line with your business goals and/or objectives? #adaptordie #
• User Intent for Keywords- EXAMPLE: bikini girls vs. girls bikini – 2 different ideas, 2 different intents – #adaptordie #
• What can you do today for SEO?- Title, Meta description, header tag, body text, page URL keywords, img Alt Attributes, – #adaptordie #
• RT @hjomats: Thumb Drive, Junk Drive, USB, USB Drive, File Storage What do you call it? Optimize for what you are searching? #adaptordie #
• RT @RMPR: Toys ‘R’ Us launches its own version of Cash for Clunkers, called the Great Trade-In: http://is.gd/2C0bP #
• “Click Here” is a dirty phrase DON”T USE it…almost as bad as Viral #adaptordie be specific and descriptive (via @hjomats) #
• Link Bait: anything you create anywhere on the web that inspires other people to link to it” – Eric Ward, link building expert – #adaptordie #
• Panel at #adaptordie includes: @jaredroy @mnpr @thejrk @hjomats all about integration #
• Q: How does search incorporate into Email marketing? #adaptordie #
• A: If you plan on putting it in an archive online (recommended) it definitely makes sense to optimize the copy of Email – #adaptordie #
• SEO is not optional <–@jaredroy #
• SEO & Social Media work hand in hand. People forget to think about Keywords in Social Media because its so fast, but it matters <-@hjomats #

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• Anti-war ads imagine a world where aircraft carriers are cruise ships and fighter planes are taxis. http://bit.ly/ezYMB (via @AdFreak) #
• RT @UMNews: U of MN Twitter Trivia at the Fair! Prizes include hoops and hockey tix: http://bit.ly/4fGttz (via @RPMaus) #
• @cydneyw-Organizing gift bags for the Emmy Awards Gala. Any PR people have products/gifts you’d like in? E-mail wmares@PSBPR.com #

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• RT @aschendel: article on wired about craigslist creator, a good read no matter what you do. http://trunc.it/1izyj #
• RT @LaughItUp: How Twitter is ruining education [Cartoon] http://bit.ly/18idHs #
• RT @JeffSays: 5 Social Media Lessons Learned From Whole Foods http://bit.ly/qitaE #
• RT @charlesyeo: Anheuser-Busch pulls promotions at some colleges! http://ow.ly/liLE #

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• Vick’s Return to NFL Casts Light on Corporate Sponsorships – http://bit.ly/3OZuwL #
• Why Your Agency Should Embrace Connection Planning – http://bit.ly/KZjeK #

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• @joshuakahn Can you follow us so we can send you a DM? #
• Video Blog: Minneapolis Tornados and Twitpicshttp://marketingpie.risdall.com/?p=1221 #

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It’s 8/19/2009, the weather outside is frightful.  @collegewolf takes a pic of the tornado happening on 35w.

The views soar on his picture from 500 to 900 to 7,000 to over 12,000 in a matter of minutes. Somewhere along the way, @kareemy notices that for some reason, @collegewolf is not being credited for the photo any longer.

@collegewolf

It is long lost in the social media storm…

Minneapolis Tornado and Twitpics

Before I get into the jist of it- let me just say that it must be a slow news day (are we sick of Farve already?!)

At 8:42 AM this morning, Beth Brody of Brody PR sent out a generic email pitch titled ‘New Social Media Marketing for Small Business E-book.’ These sorts of emails go out all the time, but the problem here was that not only did Ms. Brody send out a mass, untailored email, but she CC’ed everyone instead of BCC’ing everyone. Awkward! Not only did Brody make the mistake of spamming many of the industry’s A-list bloggers and journalists, but everyone could see everyone and even reply-all! Then, according to AdAge, ” a good 90% of people on the list felt some weird need to reply-to-all when asking to be removed from the list, thus continuing the foolishness ALL DAY LONG.”

Besides the shotty pitch and the reply-all maddness, what many people were complaining about was the total lack of response from a Brody PR rep. Chris Abraham of SocialMedia.biz says it well, “The real issue here is that Beth Brody and Brody PR completely missed an opportunity to throw herself into the conversation. This didn’t have to go nuclear…” “There is a very valuable lesson here for one and for all. On the surface, it seems like the A-lister email blast and the open CC were the kill shots, but they were just contributing factors. Beth Brody and Brody PR, your error was in the realm of crisis management and a failure to respond.”

What bothers me about the whole situation is how quick marketing professionals are to burn their fellow marketing professionals at the stake. The mob-mentality is really alarming. The PR 2.0 landscape- heck, the marketing 2.0 landscape- is evolving and changing every minute and everyone is trying new things and making their best efforts to adapt (albeit some are better than others). For me it boils down to the fact that No one is an expert, but everyone’s a critic. Sure, Ms. Brody messed up, and definitely with the wrong audience- but i feel the media swarm around incidents like this should be learning opportunities, not a virtual ’slam book.’

That said, if you would like, please visit these other articles showcasing ‘learning opportunities’ from your fellow marketing professionals.

Bad PR Pitch #317
Bad Pitch to Men’s Health Magazine
Text Message Pitch- on ‘The Bad Pitch Blog’

To follow up on the conversation surrounding the Brody incident check out the Twitter stream here.