Morgan McLintic on PR

SF Chronicle on Web 2.0

So, what's next? Why, Web 2.0, naturally: A quick pointer to a San Francisco Chronicle article which runs down a broad definition of Web 2.0 and highlights a few companies in the space. Not sure the title of the article is right though - 'what happens next for Web 2.0?' is more the question on our minds. Some VCs are slavering over these companies, while others are already heading for the hills. It's not an easy one - these firms can build a large community with little capital, but how can they monetize that community? They can't all sell to Yahoo, Google, eBay, InterActive Corp et al, and users have so much choice they might not be willing to pay for premium services - even the $1 or $2 hits many of them tout as their main (future) income source.

What's certain though is that these technologies will have a far reaching affect on everything from news sites, to web services like online banking, to enterprise software. Yes, even enterprise software will be impacted by Web 2.0 mainstays like tagging, rss, AJAX etc. Hmm, perhaps the title was correct after all.

Another Euro PR blog

Blimey, not sure what's going on but here's another European PR blog, this time by media matador, Jorge Lopez, who runs our Spanish office. Actually, it looks like this isn't a new blog by Jorge, simply a fresh post after a long siesta since May. When I last caught up with Jorge, he explained that since the country grinds to a halt over lunch for a couple of hours each day, he takes the chance to hang out with his press buddies, to arrange interviews and to socialize with clients. Sounds like they've got it all worked out to me.

Anyway, for those who can speak Spanish, I'm sure this will be worth following. Good work Jorge, great to see you back at it.

Technorati Tags: LEWIS, Jorge Lopez

New European tech PR blog

My friend and colleague, Andres Wittermann has launched a blog about the European media and PR industry. I've had the chance to work with Andres since '97. As a former journalist he has a great understanding of what's behind the news, and as a PR guy for the last 16 years, he has a lot to share about running PR campaigns and managing agencies. He's currently in charge of seven offices in Europe, so there are few in the industry who can give as broad a perspective on European PR and media as him.

Well done Andres, looking forward to reading your stuff.

Technorati Tags: LEWIS, Andres Wittermann

AccMan Pro to launch weekly accountancy podcast

Dennis Howlett, whose AccMan Pro accountancy blog recently burst through the 20,000 page view mark, is now launching a weekly accountancy podcast. He's pulled in some great names like Damian Wild of Accountancy Age, Richard Young of Real Finance and John Stokdyk of AccountingWEB. The aim is to present a 15-minute podcast every Monday, consisting of 5 minutes from each contributor. Dennis will host and weave the show together.

What's interesting is that each contributor will have an open mike to talk about the issues they think are most relevant, and Dennis will stitch the podcast together as the consistent voice. To have three perspectives from different publishing houses each week on the topic is a first I think (correct me if I'm wrong).

Well done Den - you've found a rich topic, have been prolific in building an audience and are now taking it into a new medium. Who'd have thought accountancy would get such treatment - or that the audience would be so responsive. Good luck with the show.

Technorati Tags: AccMan Pro, podcast

Podcast on LEWIS Whale Watch blog

For Immediate Release: The Hobson and Holtz Report: Just a quick pointer to Shel Holtz' and Neville Hobson's most recent podcast (#105) in which they discuss the LEWIS Whale Watch Blog - quite favorably, I might add. Thanks guys.

(Reality check - this is a podcast about a blog about a whale outside the Houses of Parliament. Talk about truth being stranger than fiction.)

Technorati Tags: LEWIS, The Hobson & Holtz Report

PRSourceCode ranks top tech agencies

PRSourceCode, a content services provider for journalists and PR firms, has just released the findings of its first survey of reporters about tech PR firms. It surveyed 1,000 US-based IT journalists about overall performance, responsiveness, industry knowledge, accuracy and value-add. The survey had 200 responses.

And whoopee if we didn't come second in the medium-sized agencies (25-49 staff) category. 10.8% of those who replied voted LEWIS the best medium-sized agency. Horn Group, all credit to them, came top with 12.3%. Edelman came top in the large firm category (>50 staff) and Metzger Associates in the small firm section.

What's great about this is that it was voted by reporters from publications such as InformationWeek, Business 2.0, InfoWorld, CRN, and PCWorld, who we work with day in and day out. I wasn't aware this survey was taking place or that we'd rank so highly among some other well-established firms - proud day.

Technorati Tags: Edelman, Horn Group, LEWIS, Metzger Associates, PRSourceCode

Blogging Gonzo the whale

I had a fun this morning sitting on the judging panel for the upcoming OnHollywood 100 awards. But not as much fun as my colleagues in the UK were obviously having. Today, on the way to work, one of them spotted a whale in the Thames. It's not something you see everyday, so they called the media to break the story. Apparently it swam by our London offices near the Houses of Parliament. As the news started to break, they quickly put up a blog to track the progress of the whale and sent out our photographer to record the event.

And so, the LEWIS Whale Watch blog was born, recording minute-by-minute reports about where to find the whale. They named him 'Gonzo' and collected pictures and sightings of the fate of the whale. It was breaking news, and rapidly attracted a huge audience of Gonzo well wishers.

Jon Silk, who set up the blog and acted at whale HQ [pictured above on the BBC], told me that the blog had 22,000 page views in the first seven hours alone, 8,000 unique users and literally hundreds of comments and emails. The blog itself was picked up on Sky News (a UK satellite channel), the BBC Online, Times Online, The Guardian and then into the blogosphere. The photos were also taken and used by the media as part of their coverage, and I've seen a couple of faces I recognize in video snippets which are circulating as members of the team were interviewed for their part in the events. The news of the whale itself has hit the US, Germany and Sweden.

It's a classic Friday news piece. Poor innocent whale - will he make it or will he not? The blog was a great medium to get the story out there and cover it live. With my agency hat on, it was also a great way for LEWIS to get its name out there. We've had tons of well wishing emails. And it shows the power of blogs to break and influence the news as it happens.

And the whale? At the time of writing, we still don't know - but I know a place you can find out.

UPDATE - BBC: The whale died at 1900GMT on Saturday after being lifted onto a barge trying to take it back out to sea.

Shame.

Technorati Tags: AlwaysOn, gonzo, LEWIS, Thames, whale

Taking a bite of the Big Apple

Holmes Report: We've just launched a new office in New York. It's been in the works for some time, but now we're up and running with a great clutch of new clients, including IGA Partners - a hot in-game advertising company which does exactly what it says on the tin.

Technorati Tags: LEWIS

Websites - form over content

BBC: Internet users make up their minds about the quality of a website in the blink of an eye, a study shows. Researchers found that the brain makes decisions in just a twentieth of a second of viewing a webpage. ... If people believe a website looks good, then this positive quality will spread to other areas, such as the website's content. Since people like to be right, they will continue to use the website that made a good first impression, as this will further confirm that their initial decision was a good one.

In that case, I assume the same is true of blogs.

Technorati Tags: web design

Whither Feedster?

I saw Scott Rafer as I was walking around the neighborhood this afternoon, which made me think about Feedster. Haven't heard much about them since he left last year, and they seem to have been eclipsed by the resurgent Technorati. I don't get much traffic from Feedster to my blog, and I never use the site for search. In fact, the little adverts they put in their RSS searches are rather bothersome.

They might be doing well, and the site says they're hiring, but they seem to have dropped off the map. Does anyone use Feedster any more?

Technorati Tags: Feedster