Be ruthless for your own good

July 16, 2009

If there is any doubt that the idea of a corporate news site can work for almost any type of business, consider the ISC Newsroom: It’s a sugar company.
Not just any sugar company, but “an authoritative voice in the sugar industry–U.S., Mexico, and elsewhere … a one-stop shop for the best thinking and views on [...]

When writing blogs, less is more

July 14, 2009

Larry Ingrassia, the business editor of the New York Times, recently quoted two opening paragraphs from front-page stories on 1987’s “Black Monday” in response to a reader’s question.
The first was from Gray Lady herself: “Stock market prices plunged in a tumultuous wave of selling yesterday, giving Wall Street its worst day in history and raising [...]

Step away from the keyboard

July 9, 2009

Mike and I had a rather pointed discussion the other day about a New York Times piece on Silicon Valley PR that raised hackles throughout the industry.
I felt that we needed to add our voice to the conversation, as the blogs and feeds were afire over it. Mike countered that there were too many [...]

Fear, loathing, and blogging

July 7, 2009

A lot of what I’ve encountered in more than 25 years as a news editor and reporter will seem obvious, boring, or even cliched to those in the business. But Andrew is always reminding me that this blog, and Newsvetter in general, is not directed at other journalists.
To that end, those of you who are [...]

Build your own news delivery truck

July 1, 2009

On Monday Mike mentioned the importance of having a “producer” in your corporate newsroom, someone who is “obsessed with the distribution of your content.” Not a bad description for what I’ve been doing for the last year and half with Newsvetter and Guhmshoo.
Many of you may have figured out a lot of this on your [...]

Can your PR people do this?

June 29, 2009

Since posting the FAQ about our “Vetted Newsrooms,” we’ve gotten some questions from people concerned about the time and resources necessary to maintain a living content site.
The answers, of course, vary broadly depending on the size of your business and what you’re trying to accomplish. At the smallest operation–a one-person shop, maybe not even full-time–it [...]

Make your blog a living library

June 25, 2009

When building a website or blog, remember these two words: instant gratification.
Your website should be a place where people can ask questions or run searches and get quick answers. When I had a question about how to make some custom modifications to Newsvetter’s Wordpress theme (Thesis), for example, I turned to the user forum for [...]

Whistling, or Tweeting, in the dark

June 23, 2009

Once again, a major news event has prompted the mainstream media to report on grassroots digital journalism as if it’s brand new. This time around, the object of their affection is Twitter, which CNN breathlessly touted all weekend in its coverage of the protests in Iran. (“Look at all these Tweets coming in every minute!”)
Logic [...]

So you want to blog. Now what?

June 21, 2009

Any time that a five-paragraph post draws 127 responses and 125 tweets, it’s probably safe to say that it touched a nerve–especially when the comments are overwhelmingly positive.
“When people talk about the ‘Death of Public Relations,’ it doesn’t bother me at all,” Todd Defren wrote on PR-Squared. “I know what they are talking about. They [...]

Stop the presses (and walk away)

June 19, 2009

It’s been said that, for every General Motors employee laid off, another 10 will lose their jobs elsewhere. At first that might sound like some UAW hyperbole, but as everything from major dealerships to custom upholsterers close, the ratio seems quite credible.
So it is surprising that a parallel hasn’t been drawn with failing news outlets, [...]

Praise for Guhmshoo

June 15, 2009
Thumbnail image for Praise for Guhmshoo

What some people have said about Guhmshoo:

Allen Stern
Amanda Chapel
Beth Harte
Bill Austin
BL Hussein Ochman
Brian Solis
Chris Brogan
David Armano
Doug Haslam
Evan Williams
Geoff Livingston
Guy Kawasaki
Jason Falls
Jason Kintzler
JD Lasica
Jennifer Leggio
Kara Swisher
Kevin Dugan
Kristie Wells
Mark Drapeau
Marshall Kirkpatrick
Neville Hobson
Paula Drum
Peter Shankman
Rachel Sklar
Rafe Needleman
RedEyeChicago
Scott Monty
Ted Murphy
Todd Defren
Todd Jordan
Walt Mossberg

A letter from Andrew

June 12, 2009

For those of you who are new to Newsvetter, a bit of background: I built a unique web-based “vetting” process in 2007 that was designed to cut down on PR spam–poor-quality press releases and misdirected pitches that flood the inboxes of journalists and bloggers every day. The primary objective of Newsvetter was (and still [...]

Exclusive: Guhmshoo is unmasked!

June 5, 2009

First, a big thanks to all those who have been following Guhmshoo for the last several months. I have honestly not been concealing my true identity for any nefarious reasons.
Much to my surprise, what began as an innocent experiment in social media last July has turned into something far more popular than I had ever [...]

FAQ: ‘Vetted Newsroom’ explained

June 4, 2009

Ask yourself: Would a journalist, blogger, or customer be able to understand what you do and why it matters by reading just your home page? More importantly, would a visitor to your homepage be compelled to share that link with their social network?
All too often the answer to that question is an overwhelming no. And [...]

‘Flunkster’ obsession gets an F

May 27, 2009

Just when we thought we had safely escaped the teapot tempest over sponsored blog posts, another irritating mini-controversy surfaces.
The latest high crime is a PR rep for the Golden State Warriors who posted a comment on a fan site without disclosing his day job.
Is this really what it’s come down to? Reporters arguing whether someone [...]

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