Case Study Update: Whole Foods Top Exec Banned from Forums

Remember the case study we discussed about the Whole Foods incident? I found the latest update from Social TNT: the top exec has been banned from participating in forums.

According to the Wall Street Journal article "Whole Foods Bars Executives From Web Forums":

Whole Foods Market Inc.'s board, reacting to Internet postings by its chief executive, amended the company's code of business conduct last week to sharply restrict online activities by the grocer's officials.

The new code bars top executives and directors from posting messages about Whole Foods, its competitors or vendors on Internet forums that aren't sponsored by the natural-foods chain.

This seems a bit of a delayed reaction, and a pretty obvious one at this point. Whole Foods had to make some sort of announcement about a policy change, but you'd think they would've done this earlier.

A Lil' Bit of LinkLove

Though these sorts of posts aren't the most exciting reads, at least I can point my readers in the direction of some interesting articles I've harvested from my prolific RSS feed that I just can't keep up with. Here's some of the articles I actually stopped to read:

Technology:

Microsoft happy with Vista, despite adoption- (Ars Technica) Seems that Vista is proving profitable in that sales are up (because XP is no longer an option) and the corporate world is starting to slowly adopt it. Personally, I don't think there should be any rush for businesses to adopt Vista unless they're already planning on upgrading their computers as well.

RSPlug.A Mac OS X trojan: a new threat, but the sky is not falling- (Ars Technica) You will cry too when it happens to you. Just because getting a virus on a Mac is very unlikely doesn't mean you shouldn't be wary. At least wear protection and get an anti-virus program on.

Public Relations:

PR-Squared's Social Media Tactics Series: Blogger Relations- (PR Squared) Todd puts out another public service. This one is in the form of a bookmark about blogger relations.

No need for media relations — not when you make the blacklist!- (Tough Sledding) Bloggers are quickly coming up with their own "Do not spam" lists concerning poorly distributed press releases and pitches. A wrong move, an agency blacklisted. Get out those bookmarks!

Everything I Needed to Know about PR I learned from Office Space- (Technosailor) Just for fun. Movie clips that exemplify PR 101.

BuzzDash: Snapshot of the American internet user?

This post recommended by Dustin Harris, fellow helpdesk co-worker.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend :)

Yesterday, Dustin showed me the website BuzzDash, which came about a little over a year ago in September 2006. Here's a bit more about them in their words:

BuzzDash is a site and tool for gauging popular opinion on a wide range of topics - from sports, movies and politics to relationships and philosophy. Built upon individual polling modules called buzzbites™, BuzzDash provides a real-time forum where people can solicit, measure and share opinions on nearly any issue. - "About" page

So for example, here's one that I made (you do have to register with the site to create polls - see the lengths that I go to for you guys?):

Microsoft's 2nd Gen Zune: they're "nothing earth-shattering"

You've heard it before:

• large shiny screen!
• touch pad navigation!
  
• slim design!
• comes in multiple color options!
• get it in 4GB or 8GB!

Are we talking about the newest sexy new iPods? No! It's the second generation Zune to be released in mid-November!

My favorite quote from the CNN Money article about these ready-for-the-holidays Zunes:

"There's nothing earth-shattering there," said Van Baker, an analyst at the research group Gartner, in an interview about the new Zunes.

A nice and concise way of summing it up, Mr. Van Baker.

"Maybe next year they can make an aggressive push against Apple," he said.

Yeah... maybe... ya know if they aren't busy or whatever, Microsoft can come up with something innovative for the Zune.

Don't get me wrong I'm not a complete Microsoft hater, but come on. Apparently they designed these 2nd genners "from scratch" and came up with an iPod.

Microsoft tweaked the look of the new Zunes' display and menus, and added the Zune Pad, a combination mouse-button and touch pad that lets users scroll down a long list of songs with a few flicks of the finger, then click the button to select tracks or change the volume.

I like the above quote - it makes the touch pad seem so cutting-edge.

Unfortunately, no plans for a Zune phone yet - but one of these new 2nd Gen Zunes can be yours for the same price as the equivalent iPod.

But Microsoft isn't worried about "beating" Apple when it comes to mp3 player magic - as their spokesman said: "Market share comes after." Like maybe after iPods become so not cool anymore?

If I were working PR for the Zune, I would try to play up what new stuff Microsoft is doing but not many people know about, like giving servicemen and women free special edition Zunes and starting up their new community website for Zune users.

Does anyone know anyone who has a Zune? I don't think I've ever seen one in person that wasn't a display.

10/4 Update: Ars Technica takes an in-depth look at the new Zune lineup by getting in some Q&A to the head marketer for the Zune. He argues that the zero-fanfare reveal of the new Zunes were purposeful, in opposition to the huge media blitzes Apple throws when they release a new toy. Well that's one way to argue it.

Ikea's "America at Home" experiment in social media

We are the edglings and we’re experimenting with new forms of media, not to gain fame or fortune, but to change marketing from a business of bullying, bullshit, and deception, to a genuine form of respectable and valued sense of service and personalization. - Brian Solis, PR 2.0

As Ikea begins their more heartstring-pulling, emotional new ad campaign "Home is the most important place in the world," they are also experimenting with social media with their "America at Home" project. This week-long (September 17-23 with an additional 2-day grace period until the 25th) contest asks anyone to submit their photos of their home life (there are different catagories such as "morning rush" and "bedtime rituals") in an attempt to be featured in an upcoming book. Ikea wants to inspire Americans to bust out their digital cameras and capture the essence of "home" and submit them to the site, creating a digital "time capsule" of home and family life.

I think this is a good example of integrated social media by a company for a few reasons:

• it's easy - just snap photos of your home and family engaging in everyday family activities and upload them to the America at Home website. Fun + simple = more likely participation.
• there's an element of being rewarded for your contribution. There's the excitement at the potential to have your photos chosen for the book, but it's rewarding enough to be able to add your pictures and see them amongst others around the nation. I think it would be easy to get caught up looking at everyone else's submissions, even if I chose not to submit my own.
• you're associating your brand with positive ideas: family, patriotism, the sanctity of home life. The more people submit and browse photos out of their own interest, the longer they are exposed to your brand. If your company can use social media to encourage the customer to associate your brand with valuing their input while making it fun and rewarding, then congrats - you win the web 2.0.
  

PR 2.0: don't ignore bloggers, or they'll end you.

Perhaps it just seems so obvious.

After reading the first chapter of Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message, I couldn't believe that there are still some companies are ignoring bloggers. How can businesses not respond to the influential blogs that revolve around their products? For example:

"Coca-Cola does not engage in conversation with its fans or citizen marketers....it tends to ignore or dismiss the work of everyday people." - page 13, Citizen Marketers

This just seems crazy.
Engaging with bloggers seems a critical part of PR today. Ignoring your bloggers can only hurt you; sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling "LA LA LA" is not going to make the criticisms go away. Rather, not addressing a significant issue voiced by bloggers is only going to make it worse. I like the approach that the authors describe on pages 17-19, where HBO and BMW took the bloggers and bulletin-board posters into account (begrudgingly by HBO and pro-actively by BMW) and came out the better for it with increased revenues and customer satisfaction.

On a personal note, my career interests lie in bringing my internet and technology interests into my PR work, so this is right up my alley. Monitoring and interacting with today's social media movers-n-shakers would not only be fun but also rewarding for my clients.

"What does this means for crisis prevention and positive reputation management? It means that companies ignore blogs and other online commentary at their own peril." - Michael Sydner, "Ignoring Blogs: A Recipe For Reputation Disaster"

9/18 - Update: And speaking of Coca-Cola....
Today, PR Squared posted the blog entry "Red Tape Won't Stop Social Media From Changing Your Website (Eventually)," about companies (including Coca-Cola) that are continuing to resist getting social media involved on their websites.

"To ignore an opportunity to create a convenient spot for users to collaborate & discuss the brand is going to be akin to a criminal offense among tomorrow's web strategists." -Todd Defren, PR Squared

That's really all there is to it. Like his blog entry says, there's still time to be pro-active about integrating social media into their PR strategies. Companies here in the 21st century need to engage in a two-way discourse with consumers because the consumers are already talking.

Press Release 2.0: The "Social Media Press Release"

And just when everyone was worried about the immanent death of the press release, it has instead been re-innovated to have a place in our 2.0 world as of May 23, 2006. The brainchild of Shift Communications, they have provided a downloadable PDF template for public use for writing a digital press release full of social media bells and whistles. Though it may not be aesthetically pleasing, it is a great way to tell PR professionals what features need to be included.
Read Shift Communication's press release about the template while also seeing it in action here.

As PR Squared puts it nice and concise: "Love it or hate it, what is important is that the banal, unhelpful, cookie-cutter press releases of yore have outlived their pre-Internet usefulness."

Personally, I am excited to see the revitalization of the press release that does its job while being technologically relevant. Since it's been over a year since Shift Communications' original release, it seems that creating such releases should be expected of PR professionals along with the good-ol' paper version. This actually makes me excited to do a press release. Can ya digg it?

Learn More:

• Why Use Social Media With Your Press Release?
• socialmediarelease.org

Here's a news release about Edelman's new template software for making social media releases. Looks nice enough, but read the critiques in the comments for different views.

Google Book Search allows users to share their bookshelves

Google Book Search offers users to catalog the books they have in their personal collections and organize them by category (which is a great way to keep track of what you’ve read and own!). Users can then share their collection pages with each other to see what their friends are reading.

According to Google’s Book Search page: You can now create personalized libraries on Google Book Search where you can label, review, rate, and of course, full-text search, a customized selection of books.

Google Book Search is also actively promoting its benefits for book publishers:

By matching the content in your books with user searches, Google Book Search connects your books with the users who are most interested in buying them.

Links to bookstores, online retailers, and your website make it easy for users to go from browsing to buying -- with new ways to buy and access your books coming soon.

A book link will also be featured that tells the reader where they can purchase the book online, which provides more traffic to online booksellers inspired by user-driven lists that can be searched and saved using RSS Feeds to your favorite list-makers.

Using Google Book Search can benefit PR professionals in the publishing industry by promoting its use to readers. Encouraging this book networking can lead readers to discover new books via lists made by friends, celebrities and featured users. Most importantly, it's already working to help authors and publishers based on their success stories.

MySpace also features a user-driven book search engine, but based off the top-rated books, it also seems to be more teen-centered - which would be significant to publishers in this market.

Learn more about Google Book Search here, and check out their blog to make your own book library to share with others.