Flackery or real conversation?

As both a guy with a blog and a PR dude in real life, I've had the incredibly joyful experience of pitching and being pitched to. Of course, I don't understand why some companies would want to pitch to a small fry like me whose got absolutely no theme to his blog, but, "hey!" if its an interesting product or thing, I'll listen.

The thing is more companies are beginning to see the importance of the blogosphere for their political marketing campaigns, thanks (in no small way) to March 8. But the attitude and reaction many marketers are taking towards engaging bloggers is summarised by the GMOOT syndrome - in the words of AdAge columnist Scott Donaton.

To paraphrase Scott, GMOOT is short for the "Get Me One Of Those" syndrome that company heads adopt when they don't really understand the new-fangled trends but want in on it for marketing gain anyway. Read Todd Defren's post on how dangerous but widespread this syndrome is.

But my point is this: more and more companies are now looking to reach out to bloggers. Each is doing this in a vastly different way and there are definitely more than one way to succeed. But then, you start coming across posts like this, this and this.

Did we miss the point?

So I was having a conversation with someone who works admittedly closely with the local blogging scene and he's adamant that blogs are the "new media." And that marketing efforts should be directed at bloggers as this is the new channel for clients to get the message of their products and services out. After all, teenagers a reading less and less newspapers these days (yes, US stats I know).

Yes, I'd agree that we should be talking to bloggers, but I'd also disagree that we see bloggers for anything less than what they are - people. Blogs aren't just a "communications channel". They aren't just media for you to push messages thru. They are people who have something interesting to say, the right tools to say it (the blog) and the audience who's interested in hearing what they want to say.

When I get pitched, I'm really interested in starting a conversation. I'd like to know what's great about your product or solution and why it would matter to me or people like me (who, coincidentally, might read my blog). I don't want to be pushed information and be expected to "publish." That's just flackery.

Don't get me wrong, this doesn't mean you shouldn't email me about your interesting product. It just means that you should:
1. Talk to me as a human being. Don't expect a bot on the other end that auto-publishes news releases as they are sent across. I've got feelings too. I've also got a healthy dose of opinion and common sense.
2. Understand what I write about and my motivations for writing. Don't assume. If after reading a couple of my posts you're still unsure, hey, just ask :)
3. Be prepared to dive into the conversation. Because what I'm going to want, if I'm interested in what you're saying, is to actually talk and discuss the subject matter with you.

If you're reading this and you've pitched to me before, I assure you, I don't mean you in particular. This post is a summary of interesting experiences past, present and possibly last week. Please do pitch to me again and let's have a proper conversation this time round.

About PR people dealing with bloggers

Sometime ago, Text 100 (that's the name of the agency I work for...there, it's out) conducted a survey in Asia Pacific amongst bloggers. Today, the survey results are out and if you're interested in reading the results, click on here.

I'm going to cop out, be a bit lazy, and post the below points taken from the Text 100 Social Media Release (click to see videos, pictures etc.) that's going out along with the survey:

• In what is believed to be the first survey of its kind conducted in Asia Pacific, this survey highlights the similarities and differences between bloggers across APAC and their preferences for working with corporations and PR agencies.

• In a positive sign for the communications industry, 84% of respondents welcome contact from public relations practitioners and the corporations they represent.

• Electronic communication is king for APAC bloggers: 58% preferred email, followed by online comments on their blogs, as the preferred means of contacting them.

• Similarly, emailing of press releases and interviews or discussions ranked in the top two as the preferred formats for receiving content (67% and 60% respectively).

• APAC bloggers are not particular about who they engage with, but prefer to talk with active bloggers and whoever is closest to the story – not necessarily the traditional spokespeople.

• Two thirds (67%) of respondents spend less than 8 hours of their working week on blogging.

• Bloggers concerns included receiving unsolicited spam from PR agencies, and were frequently critical of the content they received, feeling it was inappropriate and unusable.

• While most bloggers ignore traditional press releases, 88% were aware of so-called Social Media Releases and indicated they were in favour of using elements such as videos, quotes, pictures and links from these releases in their posts.

• Text 100 surveyed bloggers it knew and those referred by friendly bloggers, not wanting to spam people it didn’t have a relationship with. Text 100 feels the views of the survey’s sample pool are a fair reflection of influential news, technology and bloggers across Asia Pacific.

My personal two cents on the survey and its findings goes like this:

• The survey is not conclusive and it doesn't claim to be. But it provides a useful and interesting perspective on communicating with the blogosphere. Personal experience tells me that personal experience is still king. Different bloggers vary vastly in how they'd like to have you communicate with them - if you're a PR person like me, its your job to figure what's the best way.
  
• There are a lot of the opinions in the survey shared verbatim - they could be from one, two or ten bloggers. You cannot generalise these opinions, but you should make note of them as there will be bloggers you meet who may share or disagree with these opinions. Again, I personally think the fact that the blogosphere is vast, varied and plural means that there's definitely going to be difference of opinion, and often, a very sharp difference.
  
• What Shaolintiger said is useful. Above all, bloggers are human beings and the best way to treat a blogger (like myself and yourself) is to ensure you do so with a good dose of respect.
  

So did you study blogging in Uni?

Read a funny story in the New Straits Times today about Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) might soon allow students to take blogging courses as part of their subjects.

Vice-chancellor Datuk Seri Prof Dr Ibrahim Abu Shah said something interesting, and I quote:

"Anyone can become a blogger now," he told reporters after a seminar here yesterday.

But this did not mean bloggers could write about anything, as they first needed to master several aspects of writing, such as language, ethics and accuracy of reporting.
Ibrahim said he supported any proposal to offer courses on blogging and that it was the most suitable time to do so.

I find this statement self-contradictory. First, Dr. Ibrahim is right by saying "Anyone can become a blogger now." That's absolutely right. Your plumber could be a blogger. Your mother could be a blogger. And don't be surprised if one day the pope starts a blog.

So if this is right, then why add requirements to becoming a bogger by saying that "they first needed to master several aspects of writing, such as language, ethics and accuracy of reporting?"

Does this mean if my English, Bahasa Melayu or Mandarin sucks I can't be a blogger?

Or if I don't hold on to the same "ethics" you subscribe to, I'm not credible (maybe in your eyes, not that of my fans)?

Or if I report on rumours and wild speculation, that I cannot be a credited as a blogger? Tell that to these guys - their blog is practically a rumour mill! And a very good one at that.

What does it mean to be a blogger? Some very enlightened people I listen to put it very well: blogging is just a publishing tool. Just like how anyone can write a book, anyone can blog.

Furthermore, not all bloggers are journalists. Some a diarists (they use the blog as their personal diary), some are story-tellers (ever read a blog that was pure fiction), some are commentators (they put forth their opinion on whatever subject they see fit), some are fanboys (they blog about their hobby, their pets etc) and very, very few bloggers will claim to be journalists.

Tom Merritt (links to episode 720 of Buzz Out Loud where comments were made) has a good solution for this. If a blogger wishes to be accorded the rights and pr0tection that's afforded journalists, then they must adhere to the same ethics and regulations that journalists adhere to.

If a blogger says, "hey, I'm not a journalist, just someone who writes!", then they are pretty much free to do what they want, but then they can't expect the protection journalists get (like the ability to "protect sources" even while subpeonaed).

One thing is clear though, this blanket definition of bloggers has to end. Not all bloggers are media. Certainly not some of our most famous political leaders (who have or recently started blogs).

(I mean, at least I won't consider those bloggers media).

Update: Thanks to the wonder of Twitter, some feedback with Twitter-people led me to this thought: Would being a degree-holding blogger entitle you to more money from blog-advertising?

Blogging: it's really social

Firstly - I'm back from Kuching! Really missed MSN and felt much much disconnected.

Well, surfed onto Innit today and wham!



Notice that all the top 10 posts on Innit share the same name (almost)? So I investigated by talking to David and Nigel.

In the abridged and summarised words of David Cheong (Not me, so if I got this wrong, don't blame me):

Basically, it started with this blogger pamsong blogging about a movie meetup for bloggers and everyone could self-invite. People started commenting and RSVPing to meet up and then the day came, they had 17 bloggers all come together to watch the movie Definitely. Maybe. Coming off the movie, this blogger Yatz (you know, we've met) came up with an idea that these seventeen bloggers go online, post about the meetup with small variables in the name of each post. Come today, the whole (innit) world knew they had gone out to have a quick meetup and this Definitely Gang, Maybe Bang has become sort of a little tighter group. About over 400 emails exchanged already on mass email chat.

What really piqued my interest was just how much social interaction is generated by this exchange that culminated in a real world physical outing. Being the social media freak that I am, I spent a while trying to figure these things out, but sometimes, the most important lessons are the most obvious ones.

The blogosphere (s) is social. And publicly social. What I mean by public in this last phrase is that virtually anyone and everyone can join in the conversation. The social part means you're stuck on the same rules like IRL when dealing with people. Different interests, different goals, different views, different personalities - and always that little potential for a little human chemistry.

Not to over-analyse a little get-together, but I'm just quite excited about the potential of communications here. Good job guys, you people are all inspirations.

Wii!!! The Nuffnang Pajama Party report

So right before the Nuffnang Pajama Party, I had a really difficult time contemplating if I should wear the Chipster pajama I had painstakingly made. If I wore it, I would probably look like a doofus the whole night, and be mistaken for a Singaporean (more on this later). If I didn't, I might miss out on the chance to win a prize.


Nuffnang Pajama Party 08. Hope we have more.

Thankfully, I had KY as my blogging guru and advisor and he promptly made my mind up for me by giving me some encouragement along the lines of "Don't be a #@%^$! If you don't want to wear it, I'll wear it and if I win something, I'll keep it."

With a Wii or iPod Touch at stake, I decided to wear it.


Sinsei KY and me.

Now this would be an extremely long post about a great party that's already covered in many, many other blogs such as this, this and this. So I'll summarise what I thought was the best parts of the pary and then answer some of the questions I got asked for wearing Chipster packaging on me.

The best stuff at the NuffNang Pajama Party according to davidlian

5. Games
The games were fabulous. I particularly enjoyed the 'movie partners' game. Imagine having to sift through a massive crowd of people to find 14 other Han Solos or Princess Leias.

4. Freebie Gifts
Loved the bedtime themed prizes and the GSC Movie vouchers (where did you get that idea from, Su Ann? hehe...) Like any blogger, I welcome free SWAG.

3. Watching some blogger pay 8,000 NuffNang dollars for a kiss from Dawn Yang!
Priceless! Just see below:

Pic shamelessly borrow from Timothy Tiah's blog

2. Winning the Wii!
Again, priceless! Totally unexpected. Sorry Kim.

Finally, No. 1 best thing about going to the party:

1. Meeting other bloggers
This is more than priceless. I can't remember the names of everyone I met, but here are some: David Cheong, FireAngel, Eyeris, Samantha Lim, Li Suan, Kate, and a host of a lot more people. It was great meeting you guys, send me some pics so I can post them here!

And now, on to the...

Q&A on the Chipster Suit

1. Are you Singaporean?
Nope. i'm not. Why do you ask?

Because your suit makes you look very kiasu. So I thought you're Singaporean lar!
... [no comment :/]

2. Did Chipster pay you to wear this?
Nope again. But they did promise some darn awesome prizes which I DID want to win.

3. Seriously now, is it hot wearing all that packging?
Hmm... that's a debatable question. Inside here the air-conditioning is rather cold, so I guess I'm rather snug. But really, the packaging is quite insular and helps keep your Chipster chips warm and crispy. It also reflects your body heat really well, so maybe Chipster can diversify into Antarctic clothing sometime in the future?

4. Where did you get the idea from?
Honestly, I thought it was a really obvious idea. The clues were all there: "How I sleep better with Chipster?" "Pajama Party?" "Do a quirky blogpost?". In fact, I was terrified that someone else would have the same idea and actually have better craft skills than me (I've consistently been graded D for art in school).

5. Are you wearing anything underneath all that packaging?
Er...no. Duh! Of course lah! I wouldn't risk stepping out into the public wearing nothing but Chipster packaging would I? Of course, the PR answer I'd give is:

"Due to the insular nature of the packaging and the way it reflects heat, it is necessary for me to wear a layer of cotton to ensure that heat is not directly reflected back onto my skin, which causes excessive sweating and dehydration."

Thank you all for the Happy event!

Just wanted to thank everyone who attended our Happy event on Tuesday night. And, even if you didn't come, thanks for letting me know too!

Wanna thank Yasmin from Cafe Libre for being so accomodating. The venue rocked!

Moment of the night

Wanted to share something that's still stuck in my head and makes me chuckle out-loud sometimes:

(The scene) Everyone was sitting in a circle and we were going around introducing ourselves and our blogs. Somehow, it started to fall into a pattern... "Hi, I'm XXXX and I blog at XXXXX. I blog about XXXXX." And Erna changed it all...

Erna: Okay, can we stop talking like we're in Blogholics Anonymous?

There was a pause. Then everyone started laughing.

Second Moment of the Night

So I was asking inane movie trivia questions so we could get people to come out, dig thru the Happy sack, and win a prize.

Can't remember the question I asked, but Suanie won that prize.

She stepped up, rummaged thru the sack and randomly pulled out her docket to win a... Shaver!

Some people proceeded to make some funny comments that I shall not post here on fear of mutilation. Muahahahahaha....there's a picture too! Scroll down.

Here are some pictures:


Erna trying out the Wii. It's official, Wii makes people happy.


Clap, clap, laugh, laugh.


We made the people who came do the Hula. Apparently no one could keep it up for longer than 2 spins.


Exclusive: The SmashpOp thumbs up (sorry Jason, couldn't resist)


Happy people showing us how to do it.


Guess what Suanie walked home with. I'm told that if you [CENSORED]


Movie tickets for PinkPau.


Shampoo for Swifty. He got two actually. One was some "Threesome" brand.


And a value pack of I dunno what for Kim.


Nigel claims that I only get his side profile in all the pics. Hung Wei's here too.


Guess who gallivanted all the way here?


Obligatory group picture. There were some more people, but I think they had went off already...

PS... must give credit to the photographer of the night - Louis because I selamba borrow the pictures and put on my site. :)

Guess who got a domain name?

So I've been thinking about this for a few weeks already. "Want to get a domain or not?"

The plus point about having your own name as the domain is... well..."glamour-lah" (It's glamourous). The minus point about having your own domain name is it costs money.

But I'm the type of person who will ponder, meandre and brood over decisions like this, but inevitably inch towards biting the bullet. Today, I bit it.

Started the day asking people about which domain service to use. Suan said Paul's service very reliable. Then Kel told me to go check out www.exabytes.com.my. Ran a Google search and in Malaysia apparently there's like tonnes of registrars (like www.webserver.com.my).

Finally, I settled on GoDaddy because its a name I know (heard it over Coolness Roundup) and because I had a coupon that made my 3 year registration cost only US$ 21.45 (can you beat that?).

The next step was to get Blogger to publish to my domain. Thankfully, this was a really simple step with the full instructions here. All you gotta be is a bit patient. I wasn't, so I was bugging people over MSN and moaning because all I could see for 2 hours after registering was this "parking" page (the page that tells you davidlian.com is coming soon).

Well, as you can see, it works now. And I feel so legitimate. It's like... I've moved off free-service-land into owning my own lease-hold apartment. I've actually got my own web-address.

Okay, so people, to celebrate my new domain. Can I say, this makes me super happy and that if I could, I would have entered the Happy Moments contestwith this post. Because it's hard to express how you feel when you own your own domain name (instead of letting some squatter squat on it). It's just happy.

:)

Guess who's gonna win RM 5,000 for blogging?

Actually... I dunno. But it sure ain't gonna be me.

Darn, the T&C that says:

Entry is open to all residents in Malaysia. However, permanent, contract and/or temporary employees of [insert company name] (including its subsidiaries and related affiliates) and representatives and/or agents and agencies of [insert company name] are ineligible to enter.

Happy, one of the my clients, just announced a blogging contest called "Happy Moments" with a grand prize of RM 5,000 for the best post and / or video of a (you guessed it) happy moment.

All the said soon-to-be-lucky-winner/blogger has to do is think of a unique, interesting, serendipitous happy moment; all those times you just felt cheesily happy and couldn't explain why, and write a post about it. Better still, if you have a mobile phone that can take a decent video, do a video about it (think America's funniest home videos.)


Attach this image to the post to prove that you indeed are the owner of the blog. (It may not be up yet)

Then get your friends and family to vote (mine's for sale. :) Contact me to negotiate price). Top ten most voted progresses to the shortlist where the truly best three will be selected by Happy as the winners and walk away with RM 5,000, RM 2,000 or RM 1,000 (two prizes of each, one for each category).

Sound's simple? Just surf over here or www.happy.com.my for more details.

Yup, that's it. Just a bit sore that I can't win the prize. And I had a darn good story to tell too. Oh well, maybe next time.

You don't want THIS at your press event...

This has got to be the nightmare of all PR people - especially the folks handling the invite to the Gizmodo folks!

There's this part in the video where this Motorola spokesperson actually is presenting about a pretty cool product and... the TV goes off! poof! It went off so fast the spokesperson didn't even know what was going on.



Still, I think CNet's reaction to this stunt pretty much sums it up. However, I think I can add that is probably an isolated incident in the blogging community and that the bloggers I've had for press events are nothing if not decent and interesting people.

Verdict? This is a one off. Good stunt for Gizmodo (more than 400 comments on the associated post) and nothing that should stop PR people from inviting bloggers again in the future.

Now, nobody get any ideas mmmkay?