Conversationblog

I am currently testing out Scribefire, an add on for the Firefox browser which allows you to write a blogpost while surfing and without leaving your browser window.

This blogpost has been written from "within" the browser and while I have several tabs (webpages) open. Am curious how it will look but the features of Scribefire look great.

For instance, I can insert a Youtube clip right from the interface.



Euroblog 2008 - Day One (13.03.2008)

Or a Flickr Image:




Attentio Graphic.

I'll test it further but it sure looks good.... Helps to be able to blog a story while surfing the web.

What are you using to blog ?
Technorati Tags: scribefire, blogpost, tool, youtube, flickr, blogging, Firefox, add on

Those of you who followed my training sessions on RSS learned already that your online content can travel in different formats via different media (mobile phone, email, SMS etc…).

Today I managed to create a web widget (small online sometimes viral application) and turn it into a real Facebook Application in just 20 minutes. All this based on… indeed, the RSS feed of Blackline.

You can find the widget here and the Facebook Application here.

By doing so I did 2 things:

1. I made my latest blog content portable so that anyone who wished to do so can take my little widget and republish my content on their own website. The content will be updated automatically by RSS, always showing my latest articles.

2. I adapted this little application to the Facebook platform (more than 64 million users) so that anyone who wishes to do so can add my content to their profile page.

Will people do this…? Well, in my case probably only my hardest fans (there are some 76 people who read my blog on their mobile phone, proving that I do have fans !) but imagine you’re working for a gaming company, a B2C retailer, a trend setter like Apple…

It is all about repackaging your content and make it available on as much platforms as possible…

And to close the loop - one of the best ways to do this online is via RSS feeds.

The Institute for the Future of the Book has developed a new WordPress theme with a very nice twist: you can comment on each paragraph instead of commenting per blogpost...

"Annotate, gloss, workshop, debate: with CommentPress you can do all of these things on a finer-grained level, turning a document into a conversation."

A good example is the white paper of the New Media Consortium entitled Evolution of Communication.

I have commented on several paragraphs and it works just great. Checking other comments & commenters - paragraph by paragraph - really allows for more "finer-grain level" discussions.

Technorati : blog, collaboration, commentpress, futureofthebook, wordpress

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A new report from Forrester gives some insights into the use of RSS in a marketing context and it's Johnson & Johnson versus the Red Cross in the blogosphere...

I was reading Adriana's blog today and saw her post about her client Johnson & Johnson who is suing.... the American Red Cross. No this is not a mistake, they are suing the American Red Cross because of an infringement on one of their trademarks.

As you can imagine this is no easy decision to make for an organization and it is definitely not an easy task for the PR/Corporate Comms. Manager to handle. But Ray Jordan & Marc Monseau from J&J Communications are doing a good job blogging about this issue in a very transparent way.

They must be fighting with legal over this but I do believe it helps give insight on the 2 sides of the story here. Will it keep J&J safe from a dent in their public image ? Not completely but it will balance the views somewhat, at least in the blogosphere.

I hope someone will condense this story into a study report for the next generation of PR professionals so they can read, study and learn how the profession is (slowly) changing and opening up to (don't be scared now) transparency.

Is RSS the best invention of the whole web2.0 phenomenon ?

That's what several online publications are asking in their articles based on the latest report from Forrester. According to this 2007 report about 40% of US based interactive marketeers are using RSS. More statistics give a general idea of the uptake of RSS although other stay skeptic.

I don't get it.... I have written before about the use of RSS and how it can be applied to marketing, business communications, news gathering and monitoring. Other people like Rok Hrastnik have been writing books about it with great case studies and clear ROI measurements. Why does something so straight forward seems to be looked at as the biggest mystery of all (online) times ?

This is not the first report by Forrester on the topic... Here's one dating back to 2005 I found on Charleen Li's blog. Already at the time there was a huge interest in RSS by Marketeers and the benefits were clearly stated.

Oh, and for the Belgian PR professionals reading this.... Yes, I will soon update my listing of Belgian based PR agencies who use/do not use RSS on their website/blog.

Technorati : J&J, adriana lucas, charlene li, forrester, pr agency, red cross, rok hrastnik, rss

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Nice clip from the people of CommonCraft explaining what RSS or Really Simple Syndication is.

Technorati : commoncraft, rss, youtube

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The Guardian covers SpinVox, a service that let's you update your blog by talking to it on your mobile phone.

Speech to text has been one of those "dream technologies" which didn't really come true but over the last years serious efforts and advancements have been made. The SpinVox service launches this week on Six Apart's LiveJournal blogging platform.

It will allow you to phone in your posts but you can also publish your SpinVox number so that your readers can "call in" their comments.

I have been testing out Nuance's Dragon Naturally Speaking software on my home PC and must say I was seriously impressed with the quality of the speech to text results.

The software needs a little bit more training and then I'll be able to talk to my PC to update my blog.... Sad isn't it ;-)

Technorati : blogging, livejournal, nuance, six apart, speech to text, spinvox
Del.icio.us : blogging, livejournal, nuance, six apart, speech to text, spinvox

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Tweet from TijsFascinating: I blog about a survey, Tijs picks it up and Twitters (or Tweets) it, Robin gets the "tweet" and then blogs about my post... the story spreads.

So it could very well be that my blogpost was picked up through my RSS feed or my email distribution, then got a comment online at Twitter, which was then maybe picked up through a mobile text message and then went back again to a blog.

If this was the case then what a great example of cross platform "viral" content syndication no ? 

I guess this is more a post targeted to my non-US readers but look at how the US elections are becoming completely "webified"...

US Presidential candidate Barak Obama (or at least his PR/new media people) really get social media.

Just have a look at his website. To Belgian standards it is a very highly developed campaign platform.

Apart from using video, having a slick design and linking to Flickr and Youtube material of the candidate, it also contains a social platform.

This part of the site is a collection of web 2.0 features, it includes; blogs, social networking, events, messaging, creating groups and of course online fund raising.

Apart from this platform there's also the group blog of the new media team working for Mr. Obama. The blog includes comments of course but also a rating system per post and a mail to a friend feature.

For more in depth articles on this by US based bloggers, check out the excellent overviews and analysis here and here.

I wonder if this will impact campaigning during our next Belgian elections.... I mean, will we be able to rank our politicians according to how many friends they have on MySpace in the future..?

Wondering what the "blogginess" of our Belgian politicians is ? Check out the list from B.V.L.G.

Technorati : activism, belgium, flickr, my.barackobama.com, myspace, new media, obama, politics, us elections, youtube

With 3GSM on its way I thought I would post about Zong, a new service I discovered recently. It is an interesting one because it allows your content to go further than the web, namely to mobile phones in SMS format.

Zong is a full online platform which allows you to syndicate & sell your online content in Europe. The first application I created was a RSS to SMS service.

In short, if you SMS the keyword CONVBLOG to 3236 you'll be subscribed to my blog updates through text on your mobile. Mind you, this service will cost you 0.50€/SMS.

Now, I can't see why people would actually pay for my blogposts but I can imagine scenarios where this could work; critical updates on very targeted topics, stock fluctuations, eBay bidding, last minute flight changes etc...

The service offers different applications like Z-Quiz (setting up SMS an quiz), Z-Vote (voting per SMS), Z-Box (comments/feedback per SMS) but Z-Pay is definitely one to try out.

Z-Pay allows you to create a micro content payment system per SMS. Imagine you have prime content on your blog (a white paper for instance) and you want to charge people a small fee for downloading it. Here's how it works.

When end-users get on your SMS pay payment page, they're invited to send an SMS message containing your payment code to a specific short number (one by country), for example SP COOL (if you choose COOL as a keyword) to 88999. End user gets billed and received a PIN code.

With this PIN code clients will then be able to go to the secured webpage and download your content.

I think we'll see more services in this space as content becomes more and more mobile.

Technorati : 3gsm, RSS, barcelona, mobile, mobile phone, sms, text, zong

Blogging and reading blogs on itself are already an online community building activity I think but even then...

There are several ways like-minded bloggers can use to form online communities. Here are some examples; either I am a member of these communities or I use the tools.

The most recent "community" I joined was the Public Relations FeedBurner Network set up by David Jones.

FeedBurner Networks can be set up by anyone and for any kind of group. This group is for PR Bloggers and the system groups all member RSS feeds and displays them on a web-page. You can subscribe to the group's uberfeed or sing up by email. There is also an option to advertise on the network which allows for very targeted ads.

Joining up was simple; I just sent an email to David and he mailed me a standard sign up form. After you become a member you can promote the network and put a nice little widget on your blog. (See mine under "advertising" in the navigation column). At this point in time there are about 27 PR blogs in the network.

LinkedIn Bloggers on Yahoo Groups.

This is a community of bloggers who cover all kind of topics. They do include PR bloggers but the prerequisite to join the group is that you have a profile on LinkedIn and that you blog on a regular basis.

I found it to be a very interactive group although for the moment the group is exploring other possibilities to enhance the community. The community is completely based on Yahoo Groups for the moment and you do have to like the email threading thing.

What about creating your own online social networking platform ? That's exactly what you can do with CollectiveX.

CollectiveX is a web-based service that enables members of organized groups to "maximize return on involvement" through private, secure communication and social networking. Features include: member profiles with objectives and key connections, group calendars, discussions, email blasts and file sharing. (From their website).

I started one just to test it out and must say that if I had a specific business/network group and was more popular than I am now, I would definitely use it. Basic service is free but you can add features and more storage for a small price. If you want to join the one I created you can do so by going here.

Finally I would like to talk about Zimbio, the portal builder... I think this is a very powerful service and allows for some strong community building/publishing. But since I already covered it during the launch of my "PR Blogger Portal" I will not rewrite the whole thing.

Just check it out and if you like it join and contribute.

Technorati : RSS, bloggers, collectivex, community, feedburner network, linkedin, rss, social networking, tools, zimbio