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Re: The Tyranny of Search

DavidGriner — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 22:16:52 -0000

Alan, I wonder too if so many of the SEO rules will even last beyond this year. Seems algorithms will keep getting smarter, as will site designs, blog platforms, etc.

SEO rules are made almost solely to be exploited. And as more and more of these chest-beating SEO consultants rig the results to suit their ends, the less valuable such a search is going to become. Google knows that, and "human-powered" sites like Mahalo.com and Digg sure know it.

By the way, your headline is totally not optimized. Should be something like "Search engine optimization (SEO) limits marketing creativity in Web 2.0."

Re: Worthy New Reads

DavidGriner — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:42:30 -0000

Thanks for the writeup, bud. It's been a fun experience. Very different from AdFreak, but both are a blast.

Re: louisgray.com: Five Cool Bloggers for The Hot Month of August

DavidGriner — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 21:58:12 -0000

Thanks for the nod, Louis. You've smoked out a lot of interesting new contacts on just about all my social networks. Cheers!

Re: Being A Blogging Geek Is Fun

DavidGriner — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 12:02:00 -0000

You're far to kind, Dana. I'm looking forward to it, too. You'll probably have as much to say on my topic as I do! See you next weekend.

Re: Sarah Palin and the Real Digital Revoltion

DavidGriner — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 10:32:11 -0000

Your theory sounds a lot like my take on newspapers. Blogging gave the masses an outlet to vent their frustration with the boring old experts, so now we turn to each other for our news and insight. Sooner or later, when the mainstream press is in the dustbin, we'll probably miss having objective analysis and well-honed reporting.

Re: Matt Bacak vs. Lisa Hoffmann: Two Approaches to Social Media

DavidGriner — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 13:43:17 -0000

One issue this brought up with me was the fact that I don't think marketers should always practice what they preach. I'll bend over backward to help clients get the word out to the right audience, but I'm not going to sit around using the same promotional tools and techniques just to feed my own ego. (Sorry, I mean "to prove how powerful I am.")

There's a pretty big gulf between knowledge and douchery. And you've drawn up a perfect black-and-white example, Scott.

Re: Michael Arrington of TechCrunch Pitches a Tantrum Over Press Release Embargoes

DavidGriner — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 12:12:53 -0000

It was strange to pick embargoes as his crusade. If I were a smaller upstart tech site, I'd be more inclined to get ticked at people who broke embargoes. But does it really hurt the more trusted blogs? Nah. People are still going to go to the site they trust most to get the skinny.

Despite Arrington's juvenile backlash, I don't think you should be so quick to shrug off TechCrunch's overall frustration with PR folks. It really has gotten out of control as more and more people flood the market of digital PR. Lately I've noticed a storm brewing across different parts of the blogosphere as people get fed up with pushy, relentless or just plain moronic flacks.

I feel strongly that PR is at a crossroads. People are using old-school techniques (long press releases, spray-and-pray distribution, minimal attempts at personalization) to approach a new-school group of publishers. This is creating more and more friction on both sides, and it won't get better until the industry learns to adapt in earnest.

Re: 11 Accidentally Racist Product and Company Names - 11Points.com

DavidGriner — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 16:28:38 -0000

I bought a Banana Republic shirt once that had a diagonal pattern. It rang up as "White Bias." I asked if that was some sort of discount.

Re: 10 Must-Follow Usability Experts on Twitter

DavidGriner — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 18:18:55 -0000

Great list, but here's a tremendous addition: http://Twitter.com/afhill

Andrea Hill is a whip-smart, multifaceted maven on everything from accessibility to mobile implementation. She's a must-follow, and each of her blogs is a must-read.

Re: Largehearted Boy: Contest - Win Kids Go! (A Children's Book by They Might Be Giants)

DavidGriner — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:14:55 -0000

I'm a fan of the "No, David!" books, mostly for the subtle details of his illustrations. And my daughter loves to point at David when he's naked and yell "Butt!"

Also, she's addicted to TMBG's ABC album, so hook a brother up with that book, Dave. :)

Re: Social Media Isn't a Job? I'm Not So Sure.

DavidGriner — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:29:09 -0000

You know that expression "work expands to fit the time allowed"? In the case of social media, I think that's not only true, it's also a good thing.

Companies always ask me how much staffing it takes to manage social media. The answer is "as much as you're willing to commit," with the recognition that the rewards will also be tethered to your level of involvement.

Can social media be one bullet point, a 4-hour-a-week commitment on someone's job description? Sure. Could it be a 50-hour-a-week position unto itself? Absolutely. Chances are, most organizations will start somewhere between those two and work their way up as the results become apparent.

Re: Multimedia Madness

DavidGriner — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 13:26:53 -0000

Alan, you bring up one of the great ironies of the modern Web. Watching video is the single most popular online activity beyond e-mail, and yet no one's ever really found a seamless way to incorporate it with other media.

The best example of this problem is on mainstream news sites, where they keep wanting to link not to the original video being discussed, but to their own video news coverage of the topic. So if I'm reading an MSNBC article about a police beating, the "Video" link will inevitably make me start over with a newscaster's lead-in instead of just letting me watch the video without commentary.

Even instructional sites tend to err on the side of overly long, HGTV-style video instead of specific 10-second demonstrations.

Getting back to the topic at hand, I do hope the tablet and all future e-book readers incorporate video smoothly, but I think we'll find it continues to be used best in the blog model, not in the vein of Encarta 1996.

Re: XING Closing The Door On Socialmedian by January 31st

DavidGriner — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 14:12:36 -0000

Thanks for the update on Jason's exit from Xing and new project launch. Like many Socialmedian users, I found it to be one of the really great tech news aggregators, but over time its role was gradually replaced by more open-ended real-time services like Twitter and FriendFeed.

While I still think the Socialmedian model has value, it suffered the same fate as many of its peers in 2009: abandoned in the name of social media streamlining.

Re: When Crisis Attacks

DavidGriner — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 07:17:51 -0000

Scott, as always, you raise some great points for discussion. However, I think it's unfair and counterproductive to the industry in general to highlight tweets that seem "inappropriate in retrospect" when there's been a crisis.

Personally, I think it's more irresponsible to sanitize the image of "Killer Whales" to the point where our culture sees them as cuddly mascots instead of massive carnivores. The Shamu tweets you feature seem to focus on the fact that orcas eat other animals. Which they do, quite more often than they jump through hoops and carry humans on their noses.

Should a crane company not talk about the size of its machines, just in case one falls over? Should a stove company not talk about its high BTU count, just in case there's a kitchen fire? Should a horror movie not promote how scary it is, just in case someone has a heart attack?

(I am practical enough, though, to agree with your advice to delete such tweets after a problem arises, though I think that can sometimes create just as much bad PR.)

There are definitely important lessons to be learned here, mostly in the form of crisis management, as you point out very well. But I definitely hope companies don't walk away from this with the impression that giving their social media presence some personality will inevitably come back to haunt them.

Re: What do you think of the Chiropractor, Twitter?

DavidGriner — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 12:34:14 -0000

Interesting. I also got a strong reaction when I asked about a chiro recently. In general, I've found that some are quacks and some are incredibly helpful — but I don't really buy the benefits of chiropracty beyond short-term back/neck pain. I also never trust one who proposes a lengthy series of treatments before even really investigating my problem.

Re: Type A Mom: A Very Pleasant Surprise

DavidGriner — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:25:08 -0000

Great writeup, Deb, and not just because you mentioned me AND my client. :) I've gotten to where I really appreciate conferences in the under-500 range, because you end up feeling like you got to meet a ton of great people, but a little regretful that you didn't get to chat with more.

Speaking of which, best of luck with the last-minute prep for BlogWorld, and I hope we get to cross paths in Vegas!

Re: Successful Social Media is More Than A Campaign

DavidGriner — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 17:50:50 -0000

I tend to be the defender of campaigns, not because I think they're end-all, be-all, but because I believe they get brands (and customers) excited about the potential for social media. Personally, I don't think every conversation has to be a relationship, and every relationship doesn't have to be a marriage.

Being consistent in social is important, but it's also quite boring. Customers like spice and sexiness. They like seeing that companies are capable of more than just yelling "Thanks!" on Twitter and apologizing for customer service gone awry.

And then there are the numbers. Consistent community management is a fantastic long-term strategy, but there's also nothing wrong with a short-term campaign that blasts your fan base up 100% or more in a month (which good campaigns can do without breaking a sweat). Or advertising, for that matter, which can work absolute miracles on Facebook.

So yes, social strategy is vital, but so are creativity and excitement. We do ourselves a disservice when we downplay either side of the coin in favor of the other.

Re: Successful Social Media is More Than A Campaign

DavidGriner — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 18:21:19 -0000

I see your points, and I doubt it was your intent to cast campaigns in a dismissive light, but you can imagine how frustrating it would be for you to read a post about "Community management is lame without great campaigns!" There's room for everybody in the clubhouse, and I think it's important we all respect the contributions each player makes.

Re: 24 ways to feed the blog beast

DavidGriner — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:13:13 -0000

Great stuff as always, Arik, and thanks for the mention. Love the idea of "talk about your day." I often start to write what could be great posts on daily conversations/experiences, then become concerned that I might be spilling the strategic beans or exposing too much info about our clients. Instead of just deleting, I really should work harder to make the post work. Real-world experiences generate some of the best discussions, no doubt.

Re: Knowing

DavidGriner — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:13:16 -0000

Powerful and heart-breaking post, Kim. I realize it's cold comfort to say, but you truly help all of us appreciate the blessings of life. Thanks for sharing so much of yourself.

Re: Blissdom '11 Conference Ends With Surprise Flashmob

DavidGriner — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 21:12:46 -0000

Love the looks on Alli's face. Knew I'd miss something by having to leave mid-day Friday. Thanks for posting!

Re: Capture the Everyday: Yep. I’m a snacker.

DavidGriner — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:34:10 -0000

Black pepper potato chips. (Specifically Cape Cod, when I can find them.) I will eat a whole bag like it's my job.

Re: Why strategists should make stuff

DavidGriner — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 10:46:43 -0000

This is one of the most perfectly thought-out posts I've seen in a very long while. As someone who has straddled strategy and execution at an integrated agency for years, I'm a huge believer in the value of "time in the trenches." Strategists who deal only in flowcharts and campaign budgets are simply missing out on the incredible opportunities around us. They're also missing all the fun.

Re: The 25 Best Advertising Movies Ever Made

DavidGriner — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:13:24 -0000

Hucksters was in our original list, but like several of the older movies we considered (we had several from the '30s and '40s), there just aren't enough ratings online to give them an accurate score. A sadder omission I had to make was Lemonade, which I love, but it just doesn't have enough reviews yet due to its limited distribution. First I've heard of "Truth in Advertising," but probably had the same problem. Thanks for the Q.

Re: The 25 Best Advertising Movies Ever Made

DavidGriner — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:29:02 -0000

Good one, Ed. I love that movie but honestly didn't remember he was a copywriter.