Reflections? No time for that!

It’s almost my blog-o-versary… I started this blog on July 23, 2009. I have seen many-a-reflection post from other bloggers about their first year, or their fifth, for the ones who’ve been around a while. And this isn’t one of those posts. Mainly because I’m not one to do a lot of looking back… when you (or I) screw up, we need to absorb those lessons where we are and then move forward. Take the time you need to feel the pain and then, Just. Move. On.

So, in the spirit of moving on…

I’ll continue to write about relevance, digital convergence and future trends that connect people to other people, places, spaces and ideas, because that seemed to resonate with many of you who took the time to comment on a post or retweet it.

I’ll ramp up my posting frequency. Yes, yes I will. Even if it’s a short post… if it’s relevant to this blog, I’ll get it up here more quickly.

I’ll use Twitter more strategically to gather ideas, feedback and take the temperature of the audiences out there. Little less arrogance, little more serving the readership.

I’ll continue to tweak the blog and the site to better serve the readers… sharing integrated marketing insights, strategies, tips and foibles, seasoned with my Tulsa perspective. I’ll include public relations content more frequently and I’ll be inviting guest bloggers to post this year. I use this blog as my front door… people hire me because they want help thinking about, strategizing and implementing integrated marketing solutions. They want -need- to know how I think… and I want to attract potential partners, clients and build relationships with others who get, or at least are intrigued by, how I think and who see the value in relationships and connectivity. I want to connect with people out there who will challenge what I think, who will share what they think, who will help me grow and bring all of their goodness to bear on this blog and community we’re building.

So as I said… Reflection doesn’t suit me, but red does… and we’re going full-on, redlined into the future here, and I hope you’ll not only come along for the ride, but help build the engine.

Photo Credit: flickr user becksshaw

A few weeks back, I posted then original PR People, Tips & Resources post. Several of you submitted additional people, espectially, whom you thought should be included. I’ve vetted, added and here, for your enjoyment, is a new and improved list of PR goodness.

Again, please use the comments to let me know if you have a submission for the list. I will periodically update… though it’s approaching the size where a formal list of some sort might make more sense.

PR tips and PR People

Twitter hashtag #PRtips and one of the main contributors, @CyndyHoenig

@Kristen_Okla (Kristen Turley, Oklahoma practioner and PRSA leader)

@techpr (Marivic Valencia)

@dustinpyeatt (Dustin Pyeatt)

@rcrissinger (Rob Crissinger)

@wiredprworks (Barbara Rozgonyi)

PRSA on Twitter

PRSA web site

@SternalPR (John Sternal)

@HowellMarketing (Amy D. Howell)

@AnneDGallaher (Anne D. Gallagher)

@SueYoungMedia and her website (Sue Young)

@Barb_G (Barbara Gibson)

@PRMoxie (Mary Lower)

@MarisaCorser (Marisa Corser)

@worob and his blog (especially great for students, young PR pros and those transitioning in) (Andrew Worob)

@ShannonPaul and her website (Shannon Paul)

@ConversationAge (Valeria Maltoni) and her site

PR wonderfulness

PR Sarah Evans web site

The Fight Against Destructive Spin

PR Squared site (and also @TDefren on Twitter)

Ragan Communications (and also @MarkRaganCEO on Twitter)

Brian Solis web site

The 360 Days in a PR Life blog

PR Breakfast Club blog

Arik Hanson’s site, Communication Conversations

For how not to do PR

The Bad Pitch Blog (not always work suitable, but always targeted and often really funny)

I spent some time this week editing my feed reader and was reminded again about how much good information exists out there on the interwebs. Also a lot of bad, really bad, information… and I want to make sure to share the good stuff with you guys.

I compiled a beginning list on the Journal Record’s PR blog (yes, I write that one, too) and am asking that you add your thoughts to the list. We’ll all be better together, and I am definitely about connecting people and ideas. I hope you find some (new to you) nuggets of PR goodness and that you’ll share your favorites with us.

Please feel free to either comment/share here or over on the Record’s site, as you wish I’ll gather submissions from both sites and prepare a more in-depth list of resources and people based on everyone’s shared links.

PR tips and PR People:

Twitter hashtag #PRtips and one of the main contributors, @CyndyHoenig

@Kristen_Okla (Kristen Turley)

@techpr (Marivic Valencia)

@dustinpyeatt (Dustin Pyeatt)

@rcrissinger (Rob Crissinger)

@wiredprworks (Barbara Rozgonyi)

PRSA on Twitter

PRSA web site

@SternalPR (John Sternal)

PR wonderfulness

PR Sarah Evans web site

The Fight Against Destructive Spin

PR Squared site (and also @TDefren on Twitter)

Ragan Communications (and also @MarkRaganCEO on Twitter)

Brian Solis web site

The 360 Days in a PR Life blog

PR Breakfast Club blog

For how not to do PR:

The Bad Pitch Blog (not always work suitable)

(NOTE: this is by no means a comprehensive list… I follow and interact with LOTS of great PR-types, especially on Twitter. For more, try this Twitter list.) Remember… better together. Leave your favorite resources/tweeps/sites in the comments

Disclaimer >> I’m upset. This post will be a bit snarkier than usual. You’ve been warned. Few things upset me like lies, and here’s a whopper I found today:

I saw a message in my LinkedIn digest of activity about a Social Media seminar. It was posted in the Oklahoma Networking group, so I clicked to check it out…

Being the curious person that I am, I looked at the name and affiliation of the poster. Didn’t recognize the agency, and I’m familiar with most in the Tulsa/OKC area. So I clicked to check out her profile:

I am tired of all the spam out there. I know this post won’t change anything, but I also know that all of us doing nothing won’t work well, either. So I decided to keep digging…. I followed the tinyurl to this page:

Not content to just feast my eyes on the ugliness… I mean, really… it’s ugly. I clicked the Register link. Here’s what you see next:

Note that no where yet have we seen any promise of speakers/teachers we can check out, or actual content or any other thing that would validate this program. But hey… you say… it’s free, right? Not really. It is in the sense that you don’t pay anything for the seminar (except for the cost of that 90 minutes of my life). It’s NOT in the sense that the whole thing is a hook for their “Social Media University” (see tiny link to “University” at the bottom of the the landing page?) which costs $597.

The worst part is that a visit to the home site will tell you that this is a “we’ll do it for you” system. It’s not that they understand how to build connections any better than you do, it’s that they intend to set up an auto-profile, auto-manage your online presence and you’ll somehow make lots of money. They’ll only take another $297 per module (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) of your money. Up front, of course. Plus $597 per platform, per month. Guess who’s making all that money on social media?

The lead guy? Here’s his Twitter page as of today:

Um, yeah… expert connection wizard, to be sure. And the Shottiger Agency in New York? A Google search reveals exactly 1 (yes, uno) result… Lia Moores’s profile on LinkedIn. Created August 1st, 2009. Go ahead… try it… I know this kind of crap is everywhere out there, but I am so tired of being treated like I’m stupid. I love social media. I like learning about it, using it, sharing it, speaking about it, teaching others to use it and use it well… and set ups like the social media magic one are why everyone with knowledge in this space is afraid to be called an expert. If these are the “experts” I’ll happily stay a novice.