Digital Marketing And Social Media PR – The Future Buzz

Kara Swisher, usually quite the quality reporter for WSJ’s All Things Digital blog, had a pretty surprising post this week lamenting a lack of business models for the entertainment industry in the digital age. Surprising, in that Kara let herself get influenced by an industry that has been disrupted by technology, but refuses to change.

Previously, I shared an interesting situation that erupted between Fortune Magazine and TechCrunch. It appeared to me as a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand was doing (essentially, it looked like legal got upset with something the PR team executed on). Either way, Fortune did not come off looking good in the situation and they should know better than to agree to things they can’t fulfill.

The early adopters tend to overvalue what’s new. That’s fine and nothing out of the norm, it’s just what they do. But what bothers me is when they proclaim a new piece of technology created by companies they’re fans of changes not just general consumer tech, but also industry x or y without really understanding those industries.

Previously, I wrote that companies and personal brands have a symbiotic relationship. Smart companies nurture personal brands, those personal brands promote their employer, and situation emerges where all parties experience digital reputation benefits. When there is mutual respect and transparency involved, everyone wins.

A stunning statistic: 70% of surveyed HR professionals in U.S. (41% in the UK) have rejected a job candidate based on online reputation information.

Free/advertising supported web services and applications are nothing new. They are also extremely useful and we all get value from them daily. But there is an inescapable truth about using them: you are ceding control to someone else.