Congratulations to the whole team here at Topaz are in order. Our firm was voted #1 mid-sized tech PR agency in a national survey of over 800 IT and business media journalists conducted by PRSourceCode. THAT feels good!

In these dog days of August, Tim Allik and Rob Capra take a shot at being PR contrarians in this special edition of PRobecast, with the latest, greatest Top Ten (Socal Media) PR Myths:

1. Social media is new
2. The phone is worthless
3. Email is useless
4. Print outlets are dead and insignificant
5. The press release doesn’t matter
6. Live tweeting at conferences is worthwhile
7. Social media increases PR productivity
8. The ability to multi-task is key to any PR project
9. CEOs typically give great media interviews
10. Reporters hate PR flaks more than ever

Don’t agree? Write a comment and let us know why!

Technorati Tags: PR, PRobecast, public relations, Rob Capra, Social Media, Tim Allik, Topaz Partners, Twitter

This week on PRobecast, Tim Allik, Wendie Larkin, and Glen Zimmerman discuss:

How uncool is Cuil? The new search engine launched with the best buzz money could buy - but landed with a thud. The PR lesson learned? Terrific PR just isn't enough without a great product or service behind it.

Corporate blog relations. Friday's New York Times covers the trials and tribulations of blogger Brandon Dilbeck, who gripes about Comcast on his blog - and then complains when the company emails him to ask if they can do anything to work things out. Earth to Brandon, you can't have it both ways. If you want to keep your thoughts to yourself keep a personal diary. Otherwise, prepare to engage. And kudos to Comcast for reaching out.

Help a Reporter Out. At www.helpareporter.com, Peter Shankman's effort to distribute reporters' request for sources is taking the PR world by storm, with 20,000 subscribers to the service in just a few months. Are the folks at Profnet quaking in their boots? They probably should be, because HARO is free. D'oh! Our panelists float and consider a related idea: Could PR folks create a aggregated list of PR pitches (protecting embargoes and anonymity, of course) that could then be distributed on a regular basis to reporters? What do you think?

Is the press release dead? Before you start yawning in the face of the age-old question, consider our experience at Topaz with our client Language Weaver, a leader in statistical machine translation. We distributed a press release that linked to a podcast with one of the company's founders. The release itself was interesting enough for famed inventor and futurist Ray Kurzweil to link to it from his website, www.kurzweilai.net. The one element missing from this equation? A reporter.

You can subscribe to PRobecast via Podcast Ready —

or iTunes.

Or simply use the RSS link here:

You can send your feedback to probecast@topazpartners.com. You can also call your feedback into 781-404-2409. Or leave a comment on our blog!

PRobecast’s opening music is “Junk In A” by Pat Zelenka, available on the Podsafe Music Network. Our closing music is “Chase Me On A Bike” composed by our own Rob Capra.

Have a listen to some of our past PRobecasts…

Technorati Tags: Blogging, Cuil, Help a Reporter Out, New York Times, PRobecast, Profnet, Ray Kurzweil, Topaz Partners

There are lots of good examples of B2C social media successes out there (you have to dig, but they're out there).

But try looking for B2B examples. They're few and far between.

We're trying to put an end to that. We're therefore launching a PRobecast series that will highlight the B2B social media examples and (hopefully) successes.

Our first guest of the series is John Cass, SNCR founding fellow and online community manager at Forrester Research. I had a chance to meet up with John at Podcamp Boston 3 this weekend.

John shared some excellent B2C examples at the June Social Media Club Boston event, but these weren't really focused on B2B.

So today, John and I talked about a few B2B social media examples, including:

* Scuderi Group
* Emerson Process Management
* Indium Corporation

Oh yeah. And this one:

Do you have examples of B2B social media success you'd like to share? Drop us a line! We'll have you on the next installment!

You can subscribe to PRobecast via Podcast Ready —

or iTunes.

Or simply use the RSS link here:

You can send your feedback to probecast@topazpartners.com. You can also call your feedback into 781-404-2409. Or leave a comment on our blog!

PRobecast’s opening music is “Junk In A” by Pat Zelenka, available on the Podsafe Music Network. Our closing music is “Chase Me On A Bike” composed by our own Rob Capra.

Have a listen to some of our past PRobecasts…

Technorati Tags: B2B, B2B social media, PCB3, Social Media, social media examples, socialmedia, success

As I sit at Podcamp Boston 3 absorbing day one’s learnings, I am constantly reminded of how important the face-to-face aspect of social networking is.

Think about it. Deep down inside, you just don’t feel like you really know someone until you’ve met them in the flesh, no matter how much they may blog about their life. It was this reminder that I shared with the Boston Herald’s small business columnist Jennifer Heldt Powell, who wrote a story for today’s paper on the importance of online networking.

I’ve been more social in the four years I’ve been actively engaged in the social media community that I ever was before, even in college. Getting engaged online is just a catalyst for quicker and better interpersonal and business relationships.

Do you have some social networking advice? Share it on the Herald site–they take comments!

For the record, in reference to my shirt, I actually rarely deny friend requests on Facebook. If I don’t really know you, I’ll only give you access to my limited profile. All you’ll get is my email address and a few other harmless bits of relatively useless information.

Technorati Tags: Boston Herald, Facebook, Herald, networking, PCB3, PodCamp, Podcamp Boston 3, social networking

Todd Van Hoosear is joined by Rob Capra and Stephanie Shultis for this week’s PRobecast, number 69!

This week's topics:

1. THE NEW YORKER CARTOON SCANDAL

2. BUMPER STICKERS AND FACEBOOK GROUPS

3. SWEARING ON THE JOB

4. GOOGLE: LAMENTS THE DECLINE OF NEWSPAPERS WHILE IT CUTS BACK ON ADVERTISING

5. NPR SACKS BPP WHILE IT OPENS UP

6. HAVE FUN AT PODCAMP BOSTON THIS WEEKEND. WE’LL SEE YOU THERE!

You can subscribe to PRobecast via Podcast Ready —

or iTunes.

Or simply use the RSS link here:

You can send your feedback to probecast@topazpartners.com. You can also call your feedback into 781-404-2409. Or leave a comment on our blog!

PRobecast’s opening music is “Junk In A” by Pat Zelenka, available on the Podsafe Music Network. Our closing music is “Chase Me On A Bike” composed by our own Rob Capra.

Have a listen to some of our past PRobecasts…

Technorati Tags: bumper stickers, cartoons, cursing, Facebook, Google, New Yorker, newspapers, NPR, PCB3, PodCamp, Podcamp Boston, podcast, Politics, PR, PR podcast, PRobecast, swearing

Energy and creativity were on display at the eighteenth Web Innovators Group gathering at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge last night. The event attracted a throng of people who were there to mix, mingle, and learn more about where the Web is taking us these days.

I found it particularly refreshing that the gathering was open to the public, held in a swanky conference space, and best of all, free. As a result, a robust, eclectic mix of people showed up, from geeks in shorts and flip flops to business people in power suits.

Many people in the crowd were sporting red dots on their name tags – signifying that they were looking for new talent for their companies. Even the dourest economic prognosticators would have been forced to do a double take last night, with optimism and entrepreneurship valiantly beating back the perception of darkness on the economic horizon.

Here’s a snapshot of the “main dishes” featured at last night’s gathering:

Zeer is a social network website that aims to help people buy better groceries. Founded in June 2007 by Michael Putman, Zeer taps into the wisdom of crowds to identify the best products for communities of people that share your interests. It also offers a mobile application that allows you to look up grocery reviews in the story.

WebNotes says its mission is to revolutionize the way people collect, organize and share their information. With Wednotes (founded in July 2007) users can annotate web pages with highlighters and sticky notes and organize and share that information with friends and colleagues.

TotSpot allows new parents to safely and securely share their baby’s “firsts” via pictures, videos and text with friends and family. Founded in January 2008, TotSpot enables parents to take their TotSpot pages and turn them into personalized parent journals or DVDs.

A real-time vote via mobile text put Zeer on top of the list as the crowd’s favorite – but I’d have to give the nod to TotSpot. Parents these days are more devoted than ever to their kids. They want to share milestones with their friends and family but are deeply concerned about safety and privacy issues. TotSpot fills the niche.

Co-Founder Adam Katz told me they’ve already attracted 10,000 members in less than seven months. That’s quite an accomplishment.

Good luck to all of the presenters, and hopefully I’ll see you back at the next Web Innovators Group gathering.

Technorati Tags: Boston, technology, TotSpot, Web, Web Innovators Group, Webnotes, Zeer

Brazen headlines attract eyeballs, but I still can’t bring myself to swear in print. This is as close as I’ll probably ever come, a nice TLA* with two relevant meanings–feel free to pick the one least likely to offend you or most likely to humor you.

So on Friday night, I joined up with Chris Brogan, Len Edgerly, Doug Haslam, Susan Getgood (and her husband), Pistachio, Adam Zand John Wall and my lovely wife Mailin to roast Scott Monty, who is for some crazy reason leaving the fair state of Massachusetts for Detroit.

A roast, for those of you unfamiliar with the concept, is where a bunch of people get together to both honor and make fun of an individual. At a roast, the greatest honor you can pay someone is to make fun of that person. The best part of it is, that the person being made fun of gets the last word!

A roast is also an opportunity to let loose a bit. For some, well, myself at least, that meant the use of curse words. Yes, sweet, innocent little Todd cussed at Scott Monty. In fact, I got the entire room to drop the F-bomb in unison (there’s audio of this somewhere–I will find it and share it).

Which brings me to my question. Do you swear in your professional life? At the office? At home? Online? Are you trying to cut back, or do you even give a crap? I find myself cussing a bit too much for my liking. Do you?

But to anyone who might be offended at my bad language, you should hear some of the vulgar, horrendous stuff that was used in the private Friar’s Club roasts.

Oh, by the way. Guess who produces the Comedy Central roasts, which recently included Gene Simmons? Yep. Dennis Leary.

* Three letter acronym, of course!

Technorati Tags: cursing, foul language, language, roasts, Scott Monty, swearing

Today the Social Media Club announced the formation of an interim board to chart the future of the organization. The 42 41 board members (we’re trying desperately to come up with a clever Douglas Adams reference) represent, if I may say so, the cream of the crop of social media thought leaders.

I first got involved with the Social Media Club in 2006 when I saw the great potential, and the need, for an organization that helps people be responsible and informed citizens in a world where lines between online and offline, print and web, real life and virtual life and old and new media are quickly blurring. I’m honored to have been asked to join this group of social media pros, and look forward to helping Chris, Kristie and the team build a lasting legacy for the Social Media Club.

I look forward to a bright future!

Here’s a video from Chris Heuer. Push his nose to see it:

Technorati Tags: SMCBoston, Social Media, socialmedia, socialmediaclub

Just a few days after Topaz Partners celebrated its sixth year of business, our blog is celebrating its fourth year! Our first post, like most first posts, wasn’t terribly profound, but it did try to help folks understand the whole RSS idea back when most PR agencies were blissfully unaware of the coming social media revolution / evolution / utopia / anarchy.

To give credit where credit is due, Todd Defren beat us on the Boston PR blogging scene by a month. But since that inauspicious start, Topaz Partners has continued to be one of the most innovative PR firms in the region when it comes to social media, if I may say so myself.

This is the blog that helped launch dozens of other blogs, from personal blogs for our employees to CEO and corporate blogs for our clients. Our track record of client blog abandonment remains strong, based on some napkin math I did last night–we’re hitting more than .500, which is pretty impressive given the overall drop in corporate blogging we’re seeing.

UPDATE: AN Hosting and Midphase are crediting me a whole month for being down for most of the day today–THE DAY THIS BLOG IS SUPPOSED TO BE CELEBRATING ITS 4TH ANNIVERSARY! Wow, thanks, guys.

Technorati Tags: anniversary, blog, Blogging, blogiversary, blogs, PR, PR blogs, prblogs, socialmedia