Why Some Social Media Campaigns Go Viral and Others Fail

Think of the last crazy social media campaign you came across. There are definite reasons that campaign made it to your Facebook wall or email inbox. For every successful one, there are at least a thousand that don’t see the light of day. Most of these were uninspired, lazy efforts, but sometimes the good ones die, too! What is the difference between a viral social media campaign and one that died in the water? (Read more…)

Why Should PR Pros Use Media Monitoring?

When a Fortune 500 company, government agency, startup, nonprofit, or public relations pro wants to know what’s being said about them in the news, they turn to a media monitoring service. (Read more…)

Disturbing News Cycle Has Its Lessons

The news cycle over the past week or so has been disturbing, to say the least.

The unraveling of Don Imus’ career showed the power of advocacy groups, the 24/7 media and the free markets. The dismissal of charges against three Duke University student-athletes proved how people can manipulate the media and how the media can rush judgment. Meanwhile, the senseless mass murder at Virginia Tech University has brought up questions about insensitive over-coverage and the role of citizen journalists. These events have many things in common – race, class and age being the most obvious. These events also have the worst common denominator — victims. (Read more…)