Disqus - Latest Comments for TDefren

Re: Executives vs Leaders

TDefren — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 13:56:15 -0000

Many pundits have suggested that there are no *major* policy differences between Obama and Clinton. Thus, we could get the policy-smarts of Clinton but be INSPIRED to help enact those policies via Obama.

I'm ready to be inspired to the good. I am ready for a president who does not inspire witless rancor by 1/2 the electorate.

And I am sick of the Clinton/Bush lock on the Oval Office.

Re: PR industry: Still grasping for a clue

TDefren — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 12:45:57 -0000

As one of the "forward-thinking PR practitioners and agencies (that) came up with the idea of an SMPR" (thanks!) I can say only one thing to this post, Mathew:

AMEN!

Thank you for your advocacy and blunt talk. ;)

p.s. - FWIW I track reactions to the SMPR at http://del.icio.us/SHIFT.Communications. Check out tags like SHIFTtemplate and SocialMediaRelease, if interested.

Re: Top-ranked blogs vs long-tail: PR strategies

TDefren — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 19:35:24 -0000

Hi Xavier - not sure what it was about my post that motivated the insult, especially since I don't disagree with your own post. The gist of my "Untargeting" post would appear to either support your points (or at least do not run contrary). It was simply about making sure to think of bloggers not as "targets" but as real people; since they live so much of their lives online, my suggestion is to respect that by paying attention to it (i.e., no crappy irrelevant pitches).

Guess that makes me clueless. Everyone's entitled to their opinion.

Re: I Need Some Serious Advice On Our Wills

TDefren — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 09:31:33 -0000

Hi Max -
We went through this last year. When you take it seriously, as you are, it is a gut-wrenching process.

Quick advice: whomever would raise your kids should not only share your values but also be "of a certain age," i.e., close to your age, if possible. And obviously, whomever you choose needs to agree in advance, and needs to know that they'll also have the funds to do the job (college, etc.) without fear.

The executor should be honest and unbiased, i.e., not a family member, if you ask me. Or, if a family member, not someone who would also be the guardian or trustee.

We decided that the trustee should not also be the guardian. Better to have a 3rd party watch for the best interests of the children, when it comes to $$. But, the trustee of the funds and the guardians should know and respect each other, and have the bes interests of the children in mind.

(Having said all that, the trustee should be willing to give the guardians the benefit of the doubt now and then: they are raising your kids, and deserve some flexibility and even reward, for it. Their tribulations should be respected. As the parent of 2 teenagers, trust me: there will be tribulations!)

You asked. Hope it helps some little bit.

Re: Why I'm Blue

TDefren — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:03:03 -0000

DUDE! WTF?! Wow. Congrats!!! I am SO happy for you, Scott.

Re: Thank You, My Friends

TDefren — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 11:00:29 -0000

Good luck, Scott! Sorry I couldn't make it to the roast.

Re: Yes, We Can. Obama brings Hope.

TDefren — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:38:00 -0000

I sure hope we can!

Re: What Is The ROI For Social Media?

TDefren — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:56:20 -0000

Brain. Melting.
Wish I'd written this post, and 2/3rds of the (58!!) comments, too.
No higher praise from a bloggedy-blog-blog egoist like me. ;)

Re: Doe-Anderson Is Hiring Four Interactive Positions | Social Media Explorer

TDefren — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:50:23 -0000

Congrats! No surprise that Doe-Anderson found value in your contributions! Good luck, and as always, let me know how I can help on anything.

Re: Exploring Social Media (Without Getting Fired)

TDefren — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 13:51:04 -0000

Very thoughtful analysis!

Re: Social Media Press Release - What’s more important, the look or the data?

TDefren — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 14:59:51 -0000

You make some good, interesting points here, but, I hope you're also continuing to read related posts at my blog (PR-Squared) and Brian Solis's PR 2.0 blog, in which many of these issues have been discussed, and will continue to be on the menu.

Here's a couple of example posts (which contain associated links):

http://www.pr-squared.com/2007/06/one_year_late...
http://www.pr-squared.com/2006/09/top_5_princip...

I basically agree with most all your points. The reality, though, is that we are trying to EVOLVE the format, knowing that the tools/technologies/metadata, etc. will likely not bear fruit, until/unless a critical mass of mainstream companies show keen interest in adopting the concept.

Re: Social Media Press Release - What’s more important, the look or the data?

TDefren — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 15:41:44 -0000

Go for it! We've often said that offering a "template' means, "Take what works, change or forget about what doesn't."

A lot of folks have gotten hung up on the bullets. I see no reason why folks can't use a traditional narrative format, but also incorporate multimedia, links, social media elements, etc.

Re: Pubcon 2008 - Social Media Marketing Recap

TDefren — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 09:45:34 -0000

google.com/?q=term&as_qdr=d - search for mentions of a phrase in the last 24 hours in google

Broken link?

Todd Defren's last blog post..ROI for Social Media Marketing: It's Complicated

Re: Today's the Launch of Social Media is a Cocktail Party!

TDefren — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:23:33 -0000

Good luck!

Todd Defren's last blog post..PR Helps Raise Venture Capital

Re: Some PR people are like star-belly Sneetches

TDefren — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 09:18:49 -0000

Speaking of the APR (and Kami!), I recall addressing this accreditation nonsense 3 years ago. Wow, feels like yesterday. Here is the post, if you are interested!
http://www.pr-squared.com/index.php/2006/08/acc...

Re: Embrace the trolls

TDefren — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 11:05:29 -0000

I think you missed my point, a li'l bit. I didn't suggest that we ignore crowdsourced wisdom, I suggested instead that we cannot let purposefully destructive and willfully thoughtless criticisms bog us down.

The unexamined life is not worth living. But neither is the life that's abdicated to the opinions (or rather, the fear of rejection) of others.

Re: An introduction

TDefren — Mon, 26 Jun 2006 22:46:57 -0000

Welcome, Ryan!

Re: Losing Control

TDefren — Tue, 27 Jun 2006 19:12:38 -0000

So instead, Comcast fired that poor schmoe. Nothing about fixing their atrocious service, just scapegoat the tech.

I agree that my ideas were outlandish. But I also think they might've worked. The Scapegoat Trick is so Old School, a state of mind that is transparently along the lines of, "let's brush this under the rug and hope it blows over."

Some folks on my team at the agency forwarded some addtional whacky ideas for what Comcast could have done... I may post them just to prove that I am not the only wingnut out there... ;)

Re: If you listen hard, you can hear the high-fives

TDefren — Wed, 01 Aug 2007 20:26:25 -0000

Ryan, the SMNR is a *template* - use what you like, but always feel free to change it as you see fit. You can use the narrative format but still incorporate plenty of 2.0-era concepts (e.g., enabling comments and trackbacks, adding a Digg button, etc.) :)

Re: Creativity Versus Credibility

TDefren — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:38:02 -0000

Thanks for including me in such august company!

Re: How Not To Run A Blogger Relations Program

TDefren — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 09:25:28 -0000

I empathize with your challenges, Gaurav, but would humbly ask you to not lump all PR firms in the same mix.

For example, you kindly linked to my Blogger Relations bookmark (thank you) - well, I own a PR firm that lives by those rules... so that's one good PR firm. And Rohit Bhargava works at Ogilvy, so that's two good ones. Brian Solis is a PR guy, too.

My point is, yes, there are some crappy PR practices out there, but, many of the voices that you esteem to be *worth* listening to are *also* PR folks.

We're trying to create positive change on industry practices from the inside.

Wish us luck!? ;)

Re: Introducing AdHocnium and Our Creative Catalysts

TDefren — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 16:44:20 -0000

Good luck, my friends. Let me know how SHIFT can help. Wishing you the best for the holidays, and for the new venture!

Re: A step in the right direction

TDefren — Mon, 05 Jun 2006 22:53:53 -0000

Hi David - still digging out of the piles of email created by this effort, but wanted to take a minute to thank you for the kind words. All of the responses you list, and more, are posted with some brief commentary at our del.icio.us site:

http://del.icio.us/shift.communications?setcoun...

I agree with everyone, so far, even the naysayers. Good writing, legitimate news, strong media rapport, etc., are as impt as ever. I also agree with you & Mike Manuel that this was fun and ballsy.

I can't believe Mike pulled a Johnny Dangerously quote ("My grandma called me crazy, ONCE") out of his brain, though. Now THAT is impressive.

Re: Don’t believe the hype

TDefren — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 15:48:01 -0000

I don't disagree with ya - we're more aligned than our respective blog posts might suggest. I particularly DO agree with Brian O's related post at Like It Matters: "Always be launching."

Re: At the edge

TDefren — Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:16:19 -0000

As someone noted in the Comments of that post: "Social Media is a people place not a market place." Love that line. Wish I'd come up with it!

In the last paragraph, David, you're talking about Media Relations as much as Blogger Relations. It's like Kyle Flaherty recently noted (http://www.engageinpr.com/2007/11/13/corporate-... "people who are really bad at PR are going to be really bad at social media."

That's ALWAYS been the case. The problem NOW is that the bad guys are increasingly exposed but don't change; the good guys bear the brunt of the shit storm.

Stop the hamster wheel, I wanna get off! ;)

Re: Jeremy Pepper Owes Me For This

TDefren — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 13:13:13 -0000

What is that? I want one. Jeremmmmmmmmmmmmmmmy?!

Re: The New News Release

TDefren — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 21:52:50 -0000

Thanks, David. Credit belongs to Marketwire, which takes this Social Media stuff seriously. And makes it easy.

I still maintain that the best way to produce a SMR is via a Social Media Newsroom, but, the wires are making good strides overall.

Re: The Jonas Brothers’ Biggest Fans

TDefren — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:29:32 -0000

You might wind up hating me for showing you this (via a client, Overlay.tv): http://www.jonasbrothers.com/singalong/jonas.html

Re: The ‘Why’ And ‘How’ Of Social Media

TDefren — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 22:24:09 -0000

"You like me, you really like me!"

Thanks for the kind words, David. Agreed on all fronts.

Re: 2008/08/08/astroturfing-social-media-ok-only-for-liberal-agendas/

TDefren — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 16:30:02 -0000

I wrote a LONG reply in this box - and then decided to turn it into a blog post instead.

http://bit.ly/4ur4np

Mark, I hope you'll come take a look - I usually love your stuff but in this case I think you got it wrong. Thanks!

Re: ClickableNow: Add Links to Your Twitter Background [Free Invites]

TDefren — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:49:24 -0000

First off, so ya'll know: it's working for ALL BROWSERS, not just Firefox. With that out of the way, if this were free, would you LOVE the idea? Just curious. We're listening.

Re: ClickableNow: Add Links to Your Twitter Background [Free Invites]

TDefren — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 09:42:16 -0000

@SocialPOPStars - it works with all browsers; that point was missed in original article. )

Re: Todd Defren on Social Media Content

TDefren — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 07:10:35 -0000

Thanks for having me up! Had a good time.

Re: The Today Show

TDefren — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 11:57:33 -0000

You came to BOS and didn't drop me a line? You suck, Nat. ;)

Awesome about TODAY show. Hope it went well. "I knew you when..."

Re: Getting Loaded in San Francisco

TDefren — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 20:14:16 -0000

I miss SF, too.

Re: The Effects Of Digg on My Blog

TDefren — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 16:02:13 -0000

Peep!

Re: Who is Technorati Trying to Reach

TDefren — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 14:52:46 -0000

Agreed on all counts, Chris. And, it's sad.

Re: Mixing a Great Idea with Clever Blog Promotion

TDefren — Mon, 25 Aug 2008 14:48:28 -0000

Muahahahaha! You're on to my evil plot, Brogan.

Actually, linklove is fine but truly, I'd like the "PR SUCKS" meme to die out. Forever.

Just doin' my part.

Thanks!

Re: Still Cant Figure Out Technorati

TDefren — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 16:45:00 -0000

Congrats! I just recently made it into Technorati Top 5K (at least, I was #4,999 last I checked) and felt similarly discombobulated. No clue how it works.

Re: Why Jason Falls Rules

TDefren — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 15:26:33 -0000

Best line from among the comments: "Your social media friends are full of win."

Re: 8 Marketing Bloggers to Watch in 2009

TDefren — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 18:54:03 -0000

Wow, I'm a "veteran" - not "one to watch?" I feel like I graduated or somethin'! Thanks very much, Mr. Brogan. Happy Holidays to you & your family!
Best,
Todd

Re: Welcoming Colin Browning to the Pirate Ship

TDefren — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 17:26:27 -0000

Welcome to the pirate ship, Colin!

Re: The B2B vs B2C Thing

TDefren — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 14:53:12 -0000

Wow, you have some really intelligent and thoughtful readers, my friend: the comments lately have been just awesome, including on this post.

I've always been of the "people buy from people" mindset. Having said that, in the "old days" the distinction between B2B and B2C prompted PR firms to be targeted in their outreach. B2B tech? Call Computerworld. B2C tech? Call USA Today. And so on.

In the Social Web Era, those distinctions are breaking down. Which means we get to have more fun and sweat a whole lot more, as what used to be pretty cut-and-dry is now crazy and ever-changing.

Anyway, thanks, Chris, for the "top-notch" reference to SHIFT. ALWAYS appreciated.

Re: How many Google Reader subscribers do you have?

TDefren — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:32:06 -0000

Interesting exercise, thanks for the tips...

I got 260 via Google Reader... 1,111 via Feedburner... but I am now just confused by Danny Sullivan's post (mentioned above: http://tinyurl.com/2lcdcl), so I think I'll just forget about subscriber #s and go get some work done.

Re: Facebook lets me back in…

TDefren — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 16:57:36 -0000

What's the big takeaway for you, Robert? Data Portability vs. TOS and all that, but one of the Big Questions is whether you'd move away from FB today, if a ready alternative was available? What's your dream socnet look like?

Re: Why we’re going to FastCompany.tv

TDefren — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 14:20:46 -0000

FastCompany seems like a perfect place for you, Robert. Best of luck. We'll all be watching (literally) and rooting for ya.

Re: Resources for New Media and Social Media PR

TDefren — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:19:51 -0000

Thanks for the hat-tips, Lee. Here's a new favorite post of mine re: SMRs. From IBM no less.

Re: Why Use Social Media With Your Press Release?

TDefren — Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:30:11 -0000

Hi Jennifer - These links might help you out.
http://www.pr-squared.com/2007/10/the_future_of...
http://www.briansolis.com/2007/05/social-media-...

Re: Press Release SEO Tips

TDefren — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:54:23 -0000

Hi Lee - Good stuff. Re: your "further reading" section, in the spirit of fairness I'd suggest you add Brian Solis's excellent response to Jarboe's "meatball sundae" post. Here's the link: http://tinyurl.com/ysl4d2.

Re: Refocusing Agencies

TDefren — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:44:35 -0000

At first I could not stop watching this video.

Now I can't watch it at all.

Too painful.