Write Lightning is a blog from writer Deb Thompson.
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Everyone is welcome here.
(Some links or topics may not be completely kid-appropriate.)
Thu, Oct 14 2004
Blogging As A PR Barometer
Recently David Sifry posted on his blog a chart that shows how blog posts increase surrounding certain political (and other) events. He also talks about the way blog posts might act as a sort of barometer for PR departments. If companies and organizations pay close attention to what people are posting on their blogs, they might get some idea of what to focus their attention on next in their own efforts to dispatch postive mews, and to explain and counterbalance negative news.
I'd agree that this is one way to monitor perceptions, but only if viewed in the context of a much broader picture. There are people who write blogs, people who read and write blogs, people who read blogs and people who don't read blogs. Each group, and each individual within that group, comes with biases and backgrounds that color their postings and their reading perception. And some blog topics become popular only because a well-known blog writer mentions them and others are drawn to the fame or the infamy in their wish to be part of an inner circle (as they perceive it).
Still, one thing's certain. If, as David tells us, there really are more than 400,000 new blog posts appearing on the internet each day, those numbers are approaching a phenomenon that may not be the bottom line in PR alerts, but can't be ignored as a fluke either.
posted at: 15:19 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Recently David Sifry posted on his blog a chart that shows how blog posts increase surrounding certain political (and other) events. He also talks about the way blog posts might act as a sort of barometer for PR departments. If companies and organizations pay close attention to what people are posting on their blogs, they might get some idea of what to focus their attention on next in their own efforts to dispatch postive mews, and to explain and counterbalance negative news.
I'd agree that this is one way to monitor perceptions, but only if viewed in the context of a much broader picture. There are people who write blogs, people who read and write blogs, people who read blogs and people who don't read blogs. Each group, and each individual within that group, comes with biases and backgrounds that color their postings and their reading perception. And some blog topics become popular only because a well-known blog writer mentions them and others are drawn to the fame or the infamy in their wish to be part of an inner circle (as they perceive it).
Still, one thing's certain. If, as David tells us, there really are more than 400,000 new blog posts appearing on the internet each day, those numbers are approaching a phenomenon that may not be the bottom line in PR alerts, but can't be ignored as a fluke either.
posted at: 15:19 | category: /Writing Life | link to this entry
Not Quite Rocket Science, But...
Sadly, no one on board survived the crash of a cargo jet at Halifax International Airport. One article reporting the story made a disturbing mention of depleted uranium being present. Forgive my wild association here, but is it remotely possible that the routine presence of such material in cargo plane construction helps to explain the lack of success cargo plane inspectors have had finding any in their search for it as a possible component of weapons of mass destruction?
posted at: 13:20 | category: /Science | link to this entry
Sadly, no one on board survived the crash of a cargo jet at Halifax International Airport. One article reporting the story made a disturbing mention of depleted uranium being present. Forgive my wild association here, but is it remotely possible that the routine presence of such material in cargo plane construction helps to explain the lack of success cargo plane inspectors have had finding any in their search for it as a possible component of weapons of mass destruction?
posted at: 13:20 | category: /Science | link to this entry
Thinking Outside the Packet
Taco Bell sells my favorite fast food. So how could I not have known that their tasty hot sauce puts the shine back on pennies?
posted at: 08:36 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry
Taco Bell sells my favorite fast food. So how could I not have known that their tasty hot sauce puts the shine back on pennies?
posted at: 08:36 | category: /Miscellaneous | link to this entry