In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of buzz surrounding the phrase “net neutrality.” If you haven’t heard, there has been a heated debate on the true intentions of a recent joint proposal by Google and Verizon about how net neutrality should be enforced. So much has been said and written canvassing this issue that maybe it is a good idea to provide a crash course on net neutrality so you can form your own opinion about this multifaceted debate. (more…)

While Nick Shin takes the week off, Sheldon Levine, community manager at Sysomos, compiled the weekly #smmeasure chat recap.

It was another great week for our #smmeasure chat. We’re always blown away by the number of people and level of participation we see each week. I just want to start by thanking everyone who joins in and everyone who has passed along the word of our chat. Each week we’re growing and it’s all thanks to you!

A special thanks this week to Garry Przyklenk who was filling in for Nick Shin. Garry was a little nervous and felt like a n00b, but he did a great job.

#smmeasure chat #5 recap (more…)

This article originally appeared in the Wednesday, August 25th edition of the Asian American Journalists Association’s newsletter.

At the recent AAJA conference in Los Angeles, a few members of Google’s communications team held impromptu presentations on how Google can help journalists, beyond the basic searches, email and directions we all use it for. Here are a few lesser-known tools that might make your information-gathering and research easier, faster and more targeted. (more…)

He hasn’t been with us for over a decade, but Frank Sinatra left behind his legendary music and a timeless set of oh-so-smooth rules to live by.  The icon had many mantras, and a handful of them are most apropos for those of us who make marketing our profession.  Yep, you read that right:  Ol’ Blue Eyes can teach us a lot about image management, audience engagement and brand longevity.  Before you dismiss the idea, remember that Sinatra’s success spanned 60 years, despite ever-changing cultural trends and musical tastes, so he must have done something right.  Here are five great lessons. (more…)

The show was immense and the experts were out in full force, so I’m going to go out on a limb to state that the best, most informative session at Search Engine Strategies San Francisco 2010 was “News Search Optimization.”  Moderated by Newsforce CMO Dana Todd, the panel included Brent Payne, SEO director at Tribune; Topher Kohan, SEO manager at CNN; Eleanor Hong, lead editor, SEO at ABCNews.com; and Allison Fabella, SEO and social media manager at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.  News, as we know, is changing and agile communications companies are recognizing the need to optimize their content for search and social, local reach and mobile platforms. (more…)

According to a recent report, investments made in media and communications, especially pertaining to mobile devices and the Internet, will increase faster than the US economy through 2014.

The report, compiled by media-focused private equity firm Veronis Suhler Stevenson, indicates that the media and communications industries are expected to grow to $1.42 trillion by 2014 at an average annual increase of 6.1 percent. This is a 0.3 percent difference from the estimated 5.8 percent increase in US gross domestic product during that same time frame. In 2010 alone, US media and communications are expected to gain 3.5 percent and bounce back from the “recession-induced advertising dip.” (more…)

There was a lot of anticipation building up to this week’s #smmeasure chat on Facebook measurement and your collective minds did not disappoint in providing tips and advice.  I want to thank everyone who participated and helped spread the word.  A big thanks to Sysomos’ Community Manager Sheldon Levine @sysomos for co-hosting the chat.

#smmeasure chat #4 recap

Last week, we discussed the value of a Twitter retweet (RT) and how to measure its value.  This week, we focus on Facebook measurement.  Below is just a small taste of the great conversation we had.  There were so many golden nuggets to take away from the chat that this recap will not do it justice.  I recommend that you take a look at the full transcript. (more…)

Our own CEO, Michael Nowlan, took part in a radio interview last week with long-time Marketwire partner and national broadcast personality Allyn Mark of WVSN Industry Visions.  The pair chatted about Marketwire’s people, the company’s evolution into much more than just a press release distribution company, and what the recent acquisition of Sysomos means to our clients; today and in the not-too-distant future. [Hint:  Our News Dashboard reports and solutions for stakeholder engagement will get better and better -- stay tuned!]

You can listen to the complete interview (4.0MB, MP3), and here is a terrific sound byte on the intelligence available to Marketwire clients via Sysomos:  (more…)

The last Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA) conference that I went to was the one in San Francisco in the early ’00s, when the dot-com bubble had just burst and I was still a graduate student in Boston. Back then, online journalism was just starting to take shape and the roots of social media (i.e., Facebook) were being developed in a Harvard dorm room, minutes from where I lived. Little did I know…

Fast-forward to August 2010 to the most recent AAJA conference, “Back to the Future,” held in Los Angeles. Technology was a major theme throughout the conference. About half of the 35 workshops involved some sort of technological angle while the other half broadened the mind or provided career guidance. Workshop topics included: The Present & Future of Online Journalism, Media-centric Design and Building Your Brand, which included Marketwire’s Director, Content & Audience Development Jonathan Evans among the panelists. (more…)

At the recent Asian American Journalists Association conference held in Los Angeles, I mixed and mingled with member of the media at the Marketwire booth. Not to toot our own horn, but it was an exhibit-hall-hotspot, and on more than one occasion I heard, “This is the booth I was telling you about!”

So, what are some of the secrets behind trade show success?  How can you ensure rush-hour traffic throughout the day?  What do visitors want to talk about?  Personally, I can only speak to media-based conferences, so I consulted the article Tips for a Successful Trade Show, written by trade show expert Janice Byer, and came up with this terrific list: (more…)

Social media is alive and thriving at some of the world’s biggest companies. Corporate communicators representing Chevron, Kraft Foods, Verizon and other global brands gathered last week for BlogWell Chicago to present best practices and share case studies on how they are leveraging social media to inspire employees, build awareness and create better customer engagement.

A recurring theme throughout the afternoon’s agenda was the tendency for communicators to be somewhat haphazard and overly casual with their marketing and brand communications because of the immediacy, informal style and ubiquity of social media .  It’s crucial, however, for organizations that use social media as part of their overall communications strategy to remember how important it is to use the channels, networks and conversations to tell great stories about their company and brand.  By definition, social media encourages communication through information- and opinion-sharing. So, from something as simple as establishing a Twitter channel to more complex forms of engagement, like an integrated, cross-functional promotional program, you need to tell a great story to your listeners. (more…)

Note: IR Alert’s Brian Pittman sat down with Marketwire CEO Michael Nowlan for an exclusive interview. Check out the original article, posted on August 12, 2010.

As anyone following industry news knows, Marketwire acquired Toronto-based social media monitoring and sentiment analysis provider Sysomos one month ago this week. Since then, we’ve seen a spate of alerts, Tweets and byliners flowing from the wire service sector, touching on everything from evolving web disclosure and online newsroom services to competitive providers challenging each other’s claims.

The upshot: Changes are afoot as the wire services jockey for position in the era of social media–and the beneficiaries are you, our readers.

So what exactly does the Sysomos acquisition mean for you? How could such a move help you identify, analyze, reach and understand your publics and even shareholders more effectively? What market forces set it in motion–and what strategy is driving Marketwire’s response to them? Who is the face behind this vision? And what other developments can you expect to see from your wire service providers in the future? (more…)

Wow!  This week’s chat was full of useful tips on the Twitter retweet (RT).   I want to thank everyone who participated and helped spread the word.  A big thanks to Sysomos’ Community Manager Sheldon Levine @sysomos for co-hosting the chat.

#smmeasure chat #3 recap

Last week, we gave our chatters a variety of “versus” scenarios and many participants enthusiastically provided us with their wisdom.  This week we centered our discussion around the Twitter retweet (RT).  Below is just a small taste of the great conversation we had.  A full transcript is also available. (more…)

Alex Cohen is the Senior Marketing Manager at ClickEquations, a pay-per-click software platform for large advertisers and agencies. He’s also an accomplished online marketer, blogger and presenter who has been a featured speaker at Search Marketing Expo, Princeton University’s Global Entrepreneurship Week, Villanova University and Wake Forest University. Alex also writes Digital Alex, a blog about marketing optimization, and contributes to Search Engine Watch, Search Marketing Gurus, the Web Analytics Association, Web Analytics World and other search marketing websites. (more…)

ClickZ Connected Marketing Week and the Online Marketing Summit (OMS) have teamed up this year for five full days of marketing education and conversation. On Tuesday, August 10th, OMS presents one full day of social media integration and execution, including a panel I will be co-hosting at 4:15 pm, entitled “Privacy, Trust, Mobile, Social, Local, and Emerging Trends.” (more…)

Welcome to Marketwire’s collection of the some of the most interesting articles of June and July.  My top PR, SEO, and social media articles will surely get your mind going 100 miles an hour.

PR Articles:

1. PR Readers’ Choice Finalists and Winners
By: Arik Hanson

Arik publicly recognizes the top PR blogs in his second annual PR Readers’ Choice Awards.  Don’t just skip over to the winners, but take a look at the finalists.  There are a lot of gems in there as well.

Marketwire Advice: I recommend you subscribe to these blogs and follow them on Twitter.  It’s a great way to connect with thought leaders in the PR industry. (more…)

Note:  The following article is posted on GuideStar.com and was also featured in the August 2010 edition of its monthly newsletter. GuideStar seeks to revolutionize philanthropy and the nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enabling users to make better decisions and encouraging charitable giving.

Finding new volunteers and donors is one of the biggest challenges facing nonprofit organizations. For the past few years, more and more nonprofits have used social media to get people to embrace their causes, but getting the “social-media generation” behind your cause and then inspiring them to contribute in time and resources is another matter. (more…)

Just when I thought our inaugural chat last week was going to be the peak of its existence, even more of you showed up for the second #smmeasure weekly chat.  The total number of tweets almost doubled from 400 last week to 700 this week.  I want to thank everyone who participated and helped spread the word.  A big thanks to Sysomos’ Community Manager Sheldon Levine @sysomos for co-hosting the chat.

Last week, we started the chat with high-level questions.  This week, we changed it up a bit to discuss the number of followers and fans versus brand-mention debate.  Below is just a small taste of the great conversation we had.  A full transcript is also available. (more…)

Are you about to write and distribute your first news release?  Or, are you a seasoned pro who has noticed a steady decline of viewership and pickup from the releases you’ve sent out in the past?  Whether you’re new to the process or just need new ideas, learn how to make your press release stand out from all the rest with these 12 easy steps that will maximize your content for greater visibility: (more…)

Our Sales, Customer Service and Editorial teams here Marketwire tend to get a lot of questions about link-building because press releases are a great way to build links on high-quality, authoritative websites. The links you provide in a press release or social media release are preserved downstream, whether your content is automatically republished or manually selected by an editorial team. It’s important to get embedded links right, so here are some of the top “do’s and don’ts” of link- building. (more…)