Time Magazine Gives Austin the Clean Tech Crown

I spent a good part of my childhood living in New Mexico. My parents use to make fun of how obnoxious the neighboring Texans were, who visited nearby ski resorts every year. My Dad, in particular, complained about the loud Texans, skiing down the ski slopes in their colorful, brand-spanking new oufits, singing their Texas songs, all the while, bailing down the slopes (his theory was they can't ski). I'm not sure why it drove him so crazy to see...

In the Real World, Who Cares about Search Plus?

This week's announcement by Google of "Search Plus Your World" was one of those times where Silicon Valley is great spectator sport. In case you missed it because you're at CES, or getting ready for NRF, or heads down after the holidays, Google rolled out its deepest level of integration of Google+ -- content and social signals from Circles, +1's and reshares -- to core Google search results to date. The bottom line, as Danny Sullivan put it, is that...

Are Your Messages Ready for 2012?

The activities to finish up 2011 strong are all completed, and planning for 2012 from a communications standpoint is in full force -- often combined with sales kickoff meetings around the globe. We're looking back to see how we all did, what we need to do next, and how that stacks up to what we expect the competition to do. If done right, much of the planning hinges on taking a look at messaging. For all of us communications professionals...

5 Resolutions for 2012 for PR and Social Media

Well, it is that time of year for reflecting on 2011 and looking ahead to 2012. If 2011 proved anything, it was that social media has crossed the chasm into the mainstream -- worldwide. (Tip of the hat to Geoffrey Moore.) From the democratic revolutions of the Arab Spring to the Occupy Wall Street Movement to the Japanese tsunami to the death of Steve Jobs, social media played a central role in not only communicating the news, but also being...

The Best and Worst PR Moves of 2011 : Part II [#WorstPRMoves]

We've already given you the #BestPRMoves of 2011. And, as is always the case, our list of the #WorstPRMoves is always longer and, frankly, a lot more fun to compile. Let's see if our list matches your memories of the year's communications faux pas. Best in Class Individual #WorstPRMoves of 2011 This gets a split vote this year. It was a closely fought race between sitcom star cum rabble rouser cum new sitcom star Charlie Sheen, and the "what was...

The Best and Worst PR Moves of 2011 : Part I [#BestPRMoves]

It's always fun to look back at the year with a communications lens and determine the best moves that individuals, companies or organizations made from a PR standpoint and then, of course, the most bone-headed moves of the year. The latter list is always easier to compose (why is that?) A few of our intrepid PR team members, who are busily finishing up programs for 2011 and furiously planning to start 2012 with a bang, picked their heads up briefly...

Simplicity in Messaging: Learning from Amazon and Nest

One of my favorite authors on "new marketing" is David Meerman Scott. One of his core "new rules of marketing" is to avoid "gobbledygook" -- or jargon that makes messages and positioning almost incomprehensible. It's a hard thing for marketers to change, but simplicity in messaging is sorely needed. To see how it can be done, it's worth looking at two recent examples. Amazon Positions Kindle Fire When Amazon announced the Kindle Fire it posted a message at the top...

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is a few easy items to throw in your bag: Single-sign on for all applications -- so I don't have to constantly go through several levels of security to look up my passwords that are hidden in well guarded files on well-secured devices. I'll settle for biometrics that really work. Anything that minimizes all the steps required to just get through the day, get real work done and live our lives. True connectivity everywhere --...

Don't Get 'Lost in Translation' in 2012

Just as Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson make ideal, yet improbable companions experiencing the culture, sights and sounds of contemporary Tokyo in Sofia Coppola’s 2003 film, Lost in Translation, so too do PR people and members of the press. We are ideal, yet improbable companions – only our shared experiences relate to our client’s key messages. Never before has the need to clearly articulate their value proposition for each audience they are trying to influence been more paramount. Without this...

5 Reasons Why Companies Shouldn't Dismiss Google Plus

There is a pattern to the responses I hear when people first try out Google+. "I'm on Google+ but I don't know what to do with it." "I'm not sure why we need to spend time on this when our audience isn't on here." "Why should we dilute our social presence when we have Twitter and Facebook?" It all sounds awfully familiar. That's because it's the same thing we heard when Twitter got started, and a little bit with Facebook...