Russia – What are you doing?!

Russia is on the verge of social media explosion. Yes – Russia!

The former closed communist state is already the fourth biggest market in Europe for social networking. One of the main social networks in Russia, Odnoklassniki (Одноклассники) is reporting 30 million registered users. The site, which connects classmates, is used in both Russia and the Ukraine and attracts 8 million visitors each day.

The problem is these sites only allow Russians to speak with Russians and little interaction is taking place with the rest of the world. The internet is bringing down the ‘cyber walls’ across the world and it is beginning to happen in places like Iran and Russia.

Take for example the Twitter explosion that took place this year around the Iranian elections and subsequent protests. Iranians flooded the site to get word out about police beatings and information to outsiders about social unrest happening in the streets of Tehran.

To make this social media explosion happen citizens need to network outside their borders. Recently, Facebook was taking a $200 million investment from Digital Sky Technologies, an Internet holding company with Russian roots. This will help Russians talk more outside their borders.

This social media explosion will not come from broadband access and home computers but from use on mobile devices like cell phones. Take for example this interesting statistic that Russian mobile phone penetration is a wacky 131.4%, so one in every three Russians has two cell phones!

What we saw with Iranians distributing information by social networks will grow from behind the iron firewall of Russia.

(Post is republished)

Social Media provides for ‘Conversations’ both Positive and Negative

Companies are launching their Twitter accounts, blogs and Facebook pages exploring how social media tools can assist in communicating their brands. Before launching an important first step is to listen and learn from what other companies are doing that is successful and what is not.

Before providing an example of a company that is currently using social media well and one that is not, it is important to describe why and how a company moves to launching a social media tool.

Social media is bringing a big change with a transition from one-way broadcast information to conversational marketing and public relations. What exactly does this mean?

Social Media will make marketing and public relations more of a conversation instead of just
a one-way broadcast. For example, when a company places an advertisement in a magazine this is a form of a one-way broadcast of information. There is no feedback channel for the viewers of the ad. It is difficult to know how the ad was received and if it hit the right target audience.

Now take a blog posted by a company, immediate feedback can be received through comments or links to other blogs allowing a conversation to happen. As I have written before, these new social media tools are fostering in me and others a strong sense of empowerment to participate in this new worldwide dialogue.

Here are some tips to remember before launching a social media platform at work.

• Be first, speed is key in this new environment
• Engage in a conversation: expect feedback
• Most powerful communication tool is ‘word of mouth’
• Part of an integrated communications strategy
• Always be transparent and honest

Before you can launch you will need to make a business case for social media.

• Do not start with a social media plan; start with how can you reach company goals
• Compare the cost of traditional face to face media versus less costly social media
• Use pilots or research to show the new role social media plays in achieving behavior change
• New media does not replace old media or personal relationships

Now a little about a company, that is doing it right and one that is not.

Boeing blog - Randy's Journal

The Boeing Company is showing that the new tools can make a difference with employees and customers positive perception and willingness to participate in the dialogue. The reason Boeing is successful with its social media tools are they are built into an integrated communications plan with new and old media tools.

The Boeing blog, Facebook and Twitter pages are platforms that build on traditional marketing channels like media relations and executive speeches to build brand awareness. The blog is titled Randy’s Journal and was started in January 2005 as a way to expand the conversation for Boeing.

Originated by Randy Baseler, this corporate blog is now hosted by Randy Tinseth, vice president for marketing and is on its way to two million visitors. The posts are about 4-5 times a month with a range of comments per post of about 5-20.

This is a gold standard for defense and aerospace blogs and is one of the better general corporate blogs. Randy’s Journal has a big following and influence in the aviation community.

Starbucks social media campaign hijacked

On the contrary, in a recent campaign, Starbucks displayed advertising posters in six major cities and tried to use the power of social media to further spread its message – only it backfired.

According to Bloggasm “anti-Starbucks people were encouraged to take pictures of themselves in front of Starbucks stores holding signs targeted at the company’s ‘anti-labor practices.’” These were then posted using the same Twitter hashtags for the Starbucks campaign.

It shows how the good intentions of a corporate marketing campaign can be influenced by the ‘conversation’ provided by social media tools.

What companies do you think are leading in the social media arena and why?

Presidential Transition 2009 – I am on C-SPAN

My school at Georgetown and I were honored to host a conference about the new presidential administration transition of Barack Obama. I participated and asked some tough new media questions of the Politico staff and participants. Click here to see the entire show. Skip ahead to hear my questions.

C-span reporter at transition event

Yesterday and today, Georgetown played host to “Transition 2009″ at the National Press Club, sponsored by Politico, where according to the Office of Communications, “former and current presidential transition team members, experienced policy experts and Georgetown academic leaders will share their perspectives on issues.”

According to Vox Populi the staff blog of the Georgetown Voice, “there was also a little controversy when transition team members David Plouffe, Barack Obama’s Campaign Manager, notified the press that his speech would be closed to the press. John Harris, Politico’s Editor-in-Chief, then backed out of moderating that particular event.”

Addition background information from the Web on the event that took place On February 10, 2009.

The United States is about to experience a historic change of administration. Join us as we share valuable insight on the key issues that face all Americans during the transition into a new administration, in a diverse, non-partisan environment.

Learn from a highly respected and knowledgeable group of speakers. Former and current Presidential transition team members, policy experts, and Georgetown academic leaders will conduct panels and lectures that focus on the road ahead, including topics such as:

• The 100 day agenda
• Foreign policy changes
• Response to the financial crisis
• The new domestic agenda
• The goals and priorities of the 111th congress

My program at Georgetown

Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Foundation 11th Annual Scholarship Luncheon and Silent Auction, 11:30 a.m., Saturday, April 25, 2009, at the Waterford in Fair Oaks

MLK Cultural Foundation 1th Annual Scholarship Luncheon, April 25, 2009.

Proceeds collected provide scholarships to assist Fairfax County students to attend college

Please come join The Martin Luther King. Jr. Cultural Foundation in hosting the 11^th Annual Scholarship Luncheon and Silent Auction at 11:30 a.m. Saturday, April 25, 2009 at the Waterford in Fair Oaks. The Waterford is located at 12025 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Fairfax, Virginia.

The Honorable Dr Dietra Trent, Deputy Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Virginia, will be the guest speaker. Roger Lewis will act as the emcee. Entertainment with be provided by the Janine Gilbert-Carter Quintet.

The foundation uses the proceeds collected from its fundraisers to provide scholarships for the upcoming year. The foundation’s major purpose in giving these scholarships is to assist Fairfax County, Virginia minority students to attend college. Each scholarship is a cash award of $2,000.

The 2009 scholarship winners being honored at the luncheon include:

Rebecca Takele – Annandale HS

Taylor Carter – West Springfield HS

Aida Alemu – South Lakes HS

Jeremy Thompson – Lake Braddock Secondary School

Mirella Saldana Moreno – Jeb Stuart HS

Keith Phox – Hayfield Secondary School

Caila Beissel – Herndon HS

Ana Villatoro – Northern VA Community College

Cameron Grady – Herndon HS

Camal Wilson – Herndon HS

The Outstanding Educator Awards are presented each year to an individual, group or business in the community that has exhibited outstanding leadership in helping students develop positive attitudes about themselves as well as improved academic achievement. This year’s winners are:

David Plum

Connie Brill

Northrop Grumman IT (TASC) that has partnered with Westfield’s High School for 8 years

For more information on the Martin Luther King, Jr. Cultural Foundation and the 11^th Annual Scholarship Luncheon and Silent Auction, please log onto http://www.mlkculturalfoundation.org/

Where are my WorldPerks? Delta – Northwest Merger

Don't lose my miles in the merger.

Many issues arise when large companies merge in the marketplace. Increased prices, less competition, and reduced service are often the hot button issues for consumers.

Not to mention where are all my WorldPerks miles going?!

According to the the St. Petersburg Times, “In August, airline officials are scheduled to release specifics of a combined frequent-flier program for Delta SkyMiles and Northwest WorldPerks members. It will retain the SkyMiles name.”

Antitrust regulators and politicians try to block mergers to prevent monopolies. The merging of major airlines can be worse due to logistical nightmares. Airline companies are huge organizations with competing bureaucracies and a complex set of contracted union workers.

The plan to create the world’s greatest airline began last year as Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines received final approval to merge from the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust division. The merger will create the leading global airline serving nearly all of the world’s major travel markets. The new airline, called Delta, will be headquartered in Atlanta and operate in 66 countries and more than 375 worldwide cities. The new Delta will have 75,000 employees worldwide.

The new Delta airline will save money, grow competition in the marketplace, and provide a model of leadership in these challenging economic times. This merger will save or lose the company money and keep prices competitive for customers. The airline industry faces tough times during this world economic downturn and this merger gives Delta room to adapt to the challenges ahead. This is all good and dandy if they can also keep prices down.

The Delta and Northwest merger strengthens two already financial strong airlines. This solid financial foundation will allow for creation of a competitive cost structure that will save the company money and keep fares low. Two billion dollars or more in annual revenue could be generated from this new partnership. Cost savings will be generated from reduced overhead and improved operating efficiencies and allow my upgrades to business class.

To prove this would not be a monopoly, airline officials demonstrated the two carriers have very little overlap in their route networks and hubs. This fact will keep Congressional opponents at bay.

Another smart tactic was seeking agreement between labor unions before the merger was pushed to completion. Many airline mergers have derailed because of fighting between pilot or mechanic unions and management. Delta and Northwest officials secured labor support before announcing the agreement.

Now if they can just keep my miles straight.

Keys to winning the 2012 election online.

Obama's New Media Success

The campaign of Barack Obama and meticulous use of new media tools led to a landslide victory in the 2008 presidential election and it has changed the way politics and business deploy new media to influence voters or customers to action.

Lessons learned and after action reports are being created with historians  writing the analysis of the campaign and what will be the keys to winning the 2012 election.

Two recent articles on the campaign give behind the scenes on how the online team created a powerfully integrated fundraising, communications and grassroots community.

The article titled, Welcome to the New Media Campaign Tools of 2012, by Michael Silberman describes Obama’s team new media mantra and focus as “Message, Money and Mobilization.” This resulted in “a successful online word-of-mouth campaign and record-breaking fundraising totals,” along with the “ability to inspire and facilitate real-world action.” Translation = getting voters to the polls.

How Web 2.0 Won the White House

“Obama for America wasn’t just the most successful online political campaign; it was arguably the most successful Web 2.0 deployment to date,” is the reasoning put forth in an article by Garrett M.Graff titled, Barack Obama: How Content Management and Web 2.0 Helped Win the White House.

How the next campaigns will conduct social media for the 2012 election is difficult to predict that far in the future considering how fast technology is accelerating. In the 2004 election, YouTube did not exist and Facebook was just for a few college students.

It is clear that an integrated approach of technology and online tools along with boots on the ground to organize and get voters to the polls will be a winning strategy.

Photography: The Language of Light

President-elect Barack Obama collects his thoughts in the US Capitol before the inauguration Jan. 20, 2009. Photo by Callie Shell, Time.

I have always felt that photography is its own language a way of communicating about the world in still images left to contemplate and reflect on. If you apply patience even the most detailed photo will reveal layers of information that communicate the photographers message and the energy of the moment.

This still photography ‘language of light’ is such a relief from the deluge of moving images, talking heads, advertisements, e-mails and now Tweets that are constantly bombarding us. Photography is a painting in light that communicates not just information but emotion.

This emotion is depicted in a thousand great pictures by the world’s greatest photographers and photojournalists but one photo recently held the power of the still image and used light in a divine way.

The photo made by Time photographer Callie Shell of President elect Barrack Obama as he takes a moment to collect himself right before stepping out on the inauguration platform to take the oath of office.

The image is a quiet moment in a sea of official events, parades, inaugural balls and of course 2 million witnesses to history.

The Inauguration and Introduction of a New President

As I saw the regal images coming across the wire recently from President Obama’s first official trip oversees it reminded me how much has happen in the 3 months since the inauguration. With all the turmoil and trauma the economy has been under it’s nice to think back and review the images of promise from the historic day, the thousands on the Mall and around the world.

Our vantage point. Credit, JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Change came for the country on January 20, 2009 as the country’s first African American was sworn in as the 44^th President. The day was a cold but bright and sunny with huge anticipation that led to the biggest public outpouring in history on the National Mall. My day began at 4:30 a.m. My wife and father in law arrived at the Metro for the trip downtown around 7 a.m. with tickets in hand. It was a very good thing we did as all the first time riders were overwhelming the ticket dispensing machines. The lines were long everywhere but everything moved at a pace that never seemed to frustrate.

We arrived in downtown DC and began walking towards the Mall with thousands of others moving right down the middle of normally traffic choked avenues. Our plan was to find a spot further back on the Mall at the base of the Washington Monument. From this vantage on the hill at the base, we could see all the way down the Mall to the Capitol steps and the Inauguration platform.

This is the second Inaugural event I have participated in but the electricity and huge crowd made this not just historic but very memorable. It is incredible to be witness to the peaceful transfer of power with the reciting of the oath of office.

Each president recites the following oath, in accordance with Article II, Section I of the U.S. Constitution:

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

The ceremony was running a little bit late so in accordance with the Constitution Barack Obama became the President at 12 noon on January 20^th before the oath had been administered.

As we left the Marine helicopter that carries the President flew overhead carrying former President Bush to the airport for the trip back to Texas. Here is what it looked like from below as I walked up Constitution Avenue and from on board.

Inauguration photos, Credit, JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

Inauguration photos

Inauguration photos

Inauguration photos

Inauguration photos

For all the build up the event went off unbelievable smooth and it was magic to be a part of history.

Social media gives voice to everyone during war

The new social media tools have made it possible for anyone to publish stories, events or things happening in everyday life. The new tools are easy to use and information can be published to the entire world in a mouse click.

What if your world is a war zone? Soldiers and citizens have access to comment and post what is happening in real-time.

Is this good or bad? I think it is good to see the full cost of war from every perspective.

Official Army Blog

The more transparent the awful effects of war are to people back at home the more difficult it will be to go to war in the future. It is sometimes difficult to see what is really happening in these areas of the world but it is necessary for all to have a voice about what is happening.

As news organizations shrink, we have fewer journalists covering these important international stories. So having independent writers, soldiers or average citizen’s blogging about what is happening gives everyone a much better picture of the conditions on the ground. Independent writers like Kevin Sites can bring to light stories behind the headlines like when he videotaped the shooting of a wounded Iraqi by US soldiers.

Showing these types of events will not prevent them from happening in the future. When we go to war as a nation bad things are going to happen and sometimes they will happen to innocent civilians. Having more information should help make it more difficult for us to begin wars in the future.

Michael Yon - Online Magazine

Another blogger, Michael Yon a former Green Beret, native of Winter Haven, Fl. who has been reporting from Iraq and Afghanistan since December 2004. As an independent combat journalist, Yon went to Iraq “simply wanted to learn the truth for himself, and to report without fear or favor.”

Having as many voices as possible provides a much clearer picture of what is happening during war and might help prevent us from entering the next one.

International Blogging in Qatar

So far, my blogs have focused on the domestic side of social media. So for this week I am taking an international flair and reviewing the landscape in a foreign country. Which country, English speaking or not, I have to decide where to start.

So lets throw a dart at a map of the world and see what I get, wait come to think of it I don’t even have a map of the world. So, instead of throwing a dart at the Google map of the world and puncturing my LCD screen I will use the first letter of my name and pick a country with the same.

Quentin – so what begins with Q?

Quwait, oh wait, that’s Kuwait. — Qatar!

Is that the only country starting with the letter Q? Well this is not a geography lesson so let’s see who is blogging, Twittering and FB-ing in the sandy land of Qatar.

Flag of Qatar

First, I thought this post was going to be very short because I don’t speak or read Arabic. However, there are hundreds of English blogs about the region. A sampling of some posts:

“If you are new to the Gulf, there are many aspects of life here in Doha that may appear strange and wonderful at first sight.”

“New Year is coming and with that new challenges and goals, God bless everyone who touch my life and help me in the hard way that I decided to take coming to lovely Doha.” Latingirl

“I don’t think that I’ll suffer from boredom because I’ve a lot of things to do in my life, mainly working on my master.” Hawadeet

I really could feel the passion of people writing about their lives and having it be public seemed to be a relief for them. I read many post from people visiting Qatar for school or work and hearing how their life is different. Many wondered aloud if this was the life they expected coming to a foreign land.

In the end, many posted that they would stick to their plan and make the most of their time in Qatar.

For links to more blogs from Qatar visit http://www.qatarliving.com/qatarblogsproject

Wikipedia Baby-Steps for Beginners

I posted recently about world’s largest encyclopedia, Wikipedia.org, and whether each of us should continue to post or if the site should start to encourage more credible professional researchers and historians to contribute.

Wikipedia For Beginners: Tutorial

I have concluded, as have some of my other social media colleagues that each of us untrained professionals in the masses have something to contribute that is valuable. And through what James Surowiecki called the “Wisdom of Crowds,” doing so leads to a much greater understanding of the topic even if errors do become part of the database.

Therefore, this week I set out to contribute to one of the 2,806,037 articles and share my thoughts on the process. First like most rookie contributors, I completely freaked myself out before I even began. The whole process for adding or editing seems to much. Why would someone want to do this – and do it for free?

The rules for posting, completing citations and of course needing to learn HTML coding before I could begin made getting started a bear. To me this seemed like a much more difficult task than the simple “edit this page.” I was also preparing myself for some uber-editor to swoop down and remove my work. Or worse, say how wrong my additions are and post to the world what a dunce I am.

As it turns out it is not that hard if you follow all the information and tutorials that the site provides. There are even templates to follow that help with the HTML coding. Sometimes just cut and paste was all that was needed to correctly post a subheading or add a citation. Of course, you have to have some new content to contribute and citing your work correctly is a must.

The other issue that gave me and other first-timers trouble is what article or topic should we edit?

I started by reviewing my hometown and this did not look to bad. I did not see the need to try and figure out the history of my little city in 1842, so I moved on. What I did find on this page was the link to schools in my town. I choose to update and add to my high school page that had very limited information.

Aberdeen Central High School

Aberdeen Central High School in South Dakota now has a little more detail about the school location, athletics, enrollment and school activities. It all went really smooth. I reviewed the material and included more information before I posted live. The preview tab allows you to review the information in real time before you post. And best of all, for now, no editor has changed one word.

Twitter Do’s for finding your followers

A recent article in the Wall Street Journal about Twitter made me think how my experiment with the online mass texting service is coming along. Reporter Julia Angwin writes in “How to Twitter,” what the rules and tips are for gaining followers and promoting yourself.

Quentin's Twitter. /qhphoto

To expand my online marketing and social media skills, I recently opened an online Twitter account (@qhphoto) and began to figure out what to ‘tweet’. It was easy to set-up the account with a short bio and began sending answers to the question on Twitter, “What are you doing?”

My first response to this question ranks in the highest of literary posts know to man – Rocking social media with Garrett. Yes, I was sitting in a graduate level communications class at Georgetown University class signing up for Twitter, posting that I am sitting in class!

Can you say ‘man on the moon’ type moment?

The good thing was it was a social media class led by one of the worlds Web experts in the field Professor Garrett Graff. Graff was the first blogger admitted to the White House briefing room

Let’s move back a step and explain just what is Twitter. According to Angwin “twitter is a mass text-messaging service that allows you to send short 140-character updates – or tweets – to a bunch of people at once. These people are your followers. But how do you get a following?

The best way to get a following as we both have found is to tweet. Sending out messages on things your interested in brings followers to you. Twitter is a broadcast system according to co-founder Biz Stone.

My tweets have been mostly centered on what is consuming me now, which of course, is social media and how this can be a tool for professional PR folks like myself. Promoting yourself and your ideas is how to navigate the flood of information coming across Twitter. According to ComScore Media Metrix, the world-wide audience is six million unique users a month, up from 1.2 million a year ago.

Just like in this post adding links to your tweets provide additional information for the reader and can help you gain a bigger following. Use a link shortening service like TinyURL to make it easier to fit into the 140 character limit.

The best advice I can give like with all social media is to listen first. Go on Twitter and see what is posted, look for authors you may know and learn the process. Then answer, “What are you doing?”

Wiki Warriors: Online Encyclopedia Editors

The world’s largest encyclopedia is not in print but is online for anyone to post, edit, correct or in some cases vandalize the database. Wikipedia.org is available for anyone with an internet connection to, for instances, update the page of your hometown or your favorite celebrity.

Wiki World

The success of this project has been astonishing. The English language version has 2,806,037 separate articles posted since the launch in 2001. Compare this to the Encyclopedia Britannica’s 80,000 entries and Encarta’s 4,500. Britannica started publication in 1768.

The wiki, which is the Hawaiian-language word for fast, has been a tremendous success for pooling information from the masses to create a much better understanding of a given topic than any single expert could collect.

But is this the best way to find the information you need? And is the information correct?

Academics and scholars don’t take Wikipedia seriously because they are treated just like any other user and are offered no special place on the site. I think it would add to the credibility of the site and strength the information to encourage more professional researches to contribute on the articles of knowledge.

But the purpose of the site is to have a place where each little scrap of information is important and it contributes to the overall topic. Wikipedia can’t be turned into a expert-only led endeavor and it must be keep open for any ‘Joe’ to add and contribute, as long as they follow the rules and style of the wiki.

Of course, in this anything goes world of the wiki errors will happen and they are not always an accident. But there is no better way to collect the most diverse set of information than to open it up to the shared production of information on the Web.

For huge collection of information that Wikipedia has generated there are still some facts that are in error but the total participation and sum of the project speaks for itself.

Second Life or Keep This One

I have never been much of a gamer, so the thought of jumping online to play video games has never occurred to me and in fact would be quite lame. I remember collecting quarters to play Ms. Pac-Man and the occasional race driver game but that is the extent of my gaming history. Which is of course quite lame as well. Although I am currently really interested in getting Wii and taking my swings.

Old school - Ms. Pac-Man

For the past week I have dip my toe into the world of online games, and discover an incredible amount of technology, user created content, and a whole new planet online.

Old world video games have evolved into gigantic multi-player online games, or MMOGs.

The wacky world of Second Life, is a massive interactive MMOG, was to me a little creepy but an incredibly powerful gaming experience for regular users. It does take a lot more practice than your average X-Box game. I was a little puzzled with the incredible popularity of the game. Obviously, I am not the target audience.

If the thought of creating your own new online world appeals to you sample Second Life, World of Warcraft or another MMOG.

The Long Tail of Business: The masses decide where to buy

In our hit obsessed world we are always craving the next big thing or who will be the next “American Idol.” Broadcast television has made the popularity of a few into mega stars for the masses.

The internet has made our choices infinite. Sure we can still get an overload of information on who is hot right now and topping the charts but we can also choose some small blues artist like Tab Benoit from Houma Louisiana to be on our play list for the week.

Tab Benoit, Louisiana Blues Legend

In his best selling book titled “The Long Tail” Chris Anderson discusses how selling a smaller number of items from vastly more products. Or as he puts it “selling less of more.” The hit makers can sell a huge amount because of their popularity but smaller artists can sell just as much or more if you put them all together.

The Long Tail - Selling Less of More - Chris Anderson

This ability to find the most obscure music artist, author, or photography tip is making the small less well known brands just as important. Pre internet all the information on photography was in books. But this is a creative medium that deals with light and technology.

The Web has allow photographers to find answers to the most current techniques. Rob Galbraith has a site dedicated to professional photography. As the technology changes artists can get the latest information on the long tail of the Web.

A Bill of Rights for Users of the Social Web

Question for the week: Do we need a Bill of Rights for the social web?

This question could not have come at a better time as we see in the news this week that Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg told the estimated 175 million users of his social-networking Web site Monday, trust us. Translation we will not distribute your information, messages or photos to make a profit or worst use it in an unethical way. See the terms of use.

Zuckerberg stated “Our philosophy is that people own their information and control who they share it with,” he wrote. “When a person shares information on Facebook, they first need to grant Facebook a license to use that information so that we can show it to the other people they’ve asked us to share it with. Without this license, we couldn’t help people share that information.”

I believe it is a time for a bill or rights for the social web and this has been discussed for many years by people including online activist Robert Scoble. Users need to know their information will not be use against their wishes. I bill of rights could be used like a road map to guide and protect both the social media sites and the users.

But remember, we are involved in social media sites for fun and to interact with friends. If you have content you don’t want shared with the world — don’t put it up. Or as they say in the PR business if you “don’t want to read about it in the paper tomorrow — don’t say it.”

Google the World’s Largest Media Company

“Search defines our interactions with the Internet.” The Search, John Battelle

How did two Stanford PhD students build a class project into the world largest media company is the topic of a great book.

In his book The Search, John Battelle, discussed the idea the Google is the “Database of Intentions” and would become the biggest media company even before the online search company knew it. How would they do this – paid search. A collection of all those searches is a tremendous amount of knowledge that can foretell our intentions or what we want.

Is the personal database of our intentions really only for us or does it belong to everyone, Google, Yahoo, AOL, or even the government. Are the clicks and mouse actions a record that can be watched and recorded for others to exploit?

Using the search terms people were putting in by the millions Google could almost tell the future of what people wanted to buy, where they wanted to travel, and what was the pulse of a culture.

A simple innovation that sprang into numerous online tools and now a multi-billion dollar company. Along with numerous examples from other search companies the book describes how luck and building on the backs of those that came before was a recipe for success for Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Live Radio to Podcasting and now Social Media

“Your finished” and “that’s a botch” are just a few of the rants you hear on morning talk show airwaves in the Washington DC region. From 6 to 10 a.m. every weekday morning radio DJ’s EB, Cakes, JP, and Lurch blast dreary morning commuters with sports news, entertainment nuggets and their own brand of boyish humor.

The Junkies as they are called on air help give morning drivers a bit of humor and sometimes a little raunchy dialogue that keeps loyal fans coming back. There was I time when commuting by train to work that I could not get the morning radio broadcast in the tunnels of our Nation’s Capital. It was at this time that I first bought an iPod and discovery the world of podcasting.

Radio DJ's the Junkies

For almost an entire year, I would download the previous day’s poker stories and how EB received a “bad beat.” Or how Lurch would rather watch a Boston Redsox game than take his wife to dinner. This I am sure was just for the airwaves as Mrs. Lurchy must be a wonderful lady.

Each day as I bounced through the dark tunnels under the Mall and across the Potomac I had on demand humor. This slowly branched out into other podcasts related to my interests of photography, golf or the NBC Evening News with Brian Williams. These are not as interesting as the Christian Bale (The Dark Knight Batman fame) on set melt down that was discussed today, listen here.

Christian Bale - Is Batman

The iPod is great for cataloguing your favorite music but it can also be a place to store and retrieve those podcasts or Vlogs that you just can tune in for and save to listen on a long ride home.

Me the Media

The expansive history of the changing face of journalism and its collision with new media is the topic of a book written by Dan Gillmor. We the media, Grassroots journalism by the people for the people is a look into one journalists move from traditional journalist to activist for a greater democratic conversation.

We the Media, Dan Gilmore

I am new to social media and the limitless possibility of these new tools is fascinating and is fostering in me a strong sense of empowerment to participate in the dialogue.

One of my favorite examples of how two sides of a story can use these tools is the example of “Newsmakers Turns the Tables.” After, Donald Rumsfeld was interviewed by the Washington Post the Department of Defense posted a transcript of the interview on its website. This action did two things. One, it protected Rumsfeld from potentially being misquoted or having his comments taken out of context. Secondly, it forced the journalists to make sure the story they were writing was accurate and fair.

This example showed how the traditional interview and then published story is an old model for newsgathering. The Defense Department was active in presenting another take on the context of the interview by posting the entire transcript. In this way, it was more of a dialogue and the back and forth between the newsmaker and reporter we hope a better and more relevant story was produced.

This I believe is the essence of social media – a dialogue of ideas is better than just one smart person who thinks they know everything. The collective conversation gets us to real knowledge.