Social media, The end of the Gutenberg era

Ok, Richard Stacy wrote an article called: "Gutenberg and the social media revolution: an investigation of the world where it costs nothing to distribute information."

This article was published back in November of last year, but apparently I missed the memo.

BUT, I've only read the abstract and I'm loving it... so this will be my Saturday reading. Check it out.

"This article seeks briefly to expose the extent to which the Gutenberg principle has shaped our world before turning its attention to the likely characteristics of the post-Gutenberg era - the world of what is currently called social media - identifying both the ways in which organisations will feel its impact and also the ways in which organisations will have to adapt in order to survive where power will not lie in the institutionalised capability to control access to information."

Here's a link to the article as a PDF.

Legal issues with Social Media: It's the message, not the medium

I listened to a “Social Media and Advocacy Roundtable” discussion hosted by Nielsen Online called: “Communities, Brand Advocates and User-Contribution Systems – Featuring Dell's Richard Binhammer and Intuit's Scott Wilder.”

A couple of my favorite comments, paraphrased, from the call were:

·         “The [social media effort at Intuit] is out-servicing the customer service department.” – summary statement by the Nielsen Online moderator

·         “This is part of everyone’s business if you want to have a direct relationship with your customers.” –Richard Binhammer at Dell

During the call, though, the Nielsen Online folks kept posing questions that made it seem like social media was an insurmountable challenge for the pharmaceutical industry.

A colleague of mine at Fleishman-Hillard, Mark Senak, recently posted a podcast on his Eye on the FDA blog of a conversation with the FDA’s DDMAC about this very topic. The main point that I took away from that conversation was this:

It’s the message, not the medium.

Marketers/communicators need to make sound/balanced decisions about what goes into their messaging. The medium that carries that message is of less concern than the honesty, integrity, value that the message itself delivers.

More than Money...

heart-warming video about a guy with an MBA who meets a fisherman with a rich life.

sweet animation from my friends at Free Range Studios. ;-)

BINGO!!

Go ahead and play Social Marketing Bullshit Bingo!

 

http://raena.net/social-marketing-bullshit-bingo/

 

:-P

 

two hours to download the paper

Got this from a colleague at work. Amazing.

 

“Imagine, if you will, sitting down to your morning coffee, turning on your home computer to read the day’s newspaper?! …Well it’s not as farfetched as it may seem.”

 

http://www.newstechzilla.com/2009/01/a-1981-primitive-internet-report-on-kron/

 

 

Best. Carrot Cake. Ever.

Just in case you were looking for an awesome carrot cake recipe... This is the most amazing carrot cake recipe ever.


Carrot Cake
By Elsie Keller
From the Bicentennial Cook Book, 1776-1976, compiled by the Christian Women’s Fellowship of Radford, Virginia

2 c. white sugar
2 c. plain flour
2 tsp. soda
2 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 ½ c. Wesson oil
4 eggs
3 c. grated carrots

Combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Makes 3 layers. Cool cake completely before frosting with the following frosting.

1 (8 oz.) cream cheese
1 box powdered sugar
2/3 stick butter
1 c. chopped nuts
2 tsp. vanilla

Cream cheese and butter together. Add sugar, vanilla, and nuts. Spread on cooled cake.

Alex Pardee show at Upper Playground

I went to Upper Playground to see Alex Pardee's awesome art on the walls. His show is called "Letters from Digested Children."

From Upper Playground's Web site:
In “Letters From Digested Children,” Alex Pardee pays homage to the children who are eaten by
monsters. Alex states:

Each year, thousands of children turn up missing. Some are found. But most, unfortunately, are not. Many of the children are victims of abduction, some are runaways, and a large handful of them . . . have been EATEN by monsters. However, the digestive system of many monsters is abnormally slow, and a large portion of these children that have been eaten are still ALIVE, patiently waiting to be saved.
Check it out at the Upper Playground gallery...