Author: Angelo Fernando

The lengths people go for Google juice

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The dangerous line between SEO and tricking the algorithm to deliver more Google juice has been crossed before. People have warned about such dangerous practices.

But this one, revealed by Todd Defren stumbling onto a combination of social media and SEO practice is disheartening. Sickening, in fact. Basically it was an act of blog spam plus fake posts.

I don’t know if he is doing everyone a disservice by not revealing who the company was that resorted to this kind of fakery. Maybe Defren is bound by business constraints to not do so. I challenge someone to do some sleuth work and reveal the name of the company, if only to protect some other client from falling prey.

The innovation and value that social media and search engine optimization brings to everyone is far too important to let this one slide.

Bloging gains scientific street cred

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It’s been a slow process, but the words ‘expertise’ and ‘research’ are now being used in the same sentence as blogging. A whole new window is opening up with Research Blogging, and Science Blogging.

Research Blogging calls itself a site for those tired of “science by press release” and needing to find peer-reviewed research.

Why is this worth paying attention to? These are the early signs of scientific rigor being lent to social media. They bring credibility to the strategies we evangelize. Here’s how one science writer, Nick Anthis discusses a study:

“The results were astounding. Across the blogosphere, scientists had started new collaborations, enhanced their scientific work, advanced their careers, been able to communicate science as never before, and had been offered a whole array of new and unique experiences and opportunities in part or in full due to their blogs.”

“In what respect, Charlie?” reveals poor grasp of media

/ Angelo Fernando / 2 Comments

Hard not to feel bad for Sarah Palin.

She’s completely rattled by the media, and does not have the instincts or training to push back.

Her response to Charlie Gibson on his question about whether she understands the Bush Doctrine, with the question, “in what respect, Charlie?” revealed two things:

  1. She was clueless and probably had never heard the term before.
  2. She was dumb enough to take the bait and succumb to the question whose sub-text was “prove to me you’ve done your homework.”

With Katie Couric she appeared to simply be following instructions & talking points by repeating her answer when unable to clarify a follow-up question. That was before she swung into operation-Putin, about him flying into U.S. airspace. She was also not ready with specific examples. “I will try to find you some…” is NOT an answer!

It’s easy to see the urgent need for media training. But more than that, she need media understanding. Anticipating what the interview might be looking for and coming prepared with it.

Let’s hope that in the next few days someone will give her some proper media training. Memo to governor Palin: There’s plenty of free advice out there, if the McCain campaign has no time for this. Here are just two.

Poorly timed ad for Merrill Lynch

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No amount of advertising can repair the damage for some financial institutions.

In this week’s The Economist magazine, the powerful cover image (left) shows the cyclone sucking up brand names like Fannie Mae, AIG, Morgan Stanley, Washington Mutual, Lehman Brothers and … Merill Lynch.

But the bull got sucked into the swirl by another means. Its full page ad inside (probably scheduled and printed before the news stories were laid out) ran with this copy:

“Merrill Lynch connects capital to opportunity…”Our 94-year history of leadership in the financial industry has been a source of confidence for our clients in both good and challenging markets.”

Dell’s green road trip bristling with social media

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Dell is no newbie to new media. I have been tracking them for more than two years, especially Lionel Menchaca’s parlay into social media with the hugely popular DirectToDell, its attention to the blogosphere, its presence in Second Life, the new Digital Nomads effort, and even the use of Twitter for marketing Dell Outlet,

So when I heard Dell’s latest social media effort, a 15-day, 15-city sustainability road trip with non-profit group Grist was headed to ASU and stopping right here at the Decision Theater, it sounded like a program worth writing about myself. On Friday, Todd Dwyer, Dell’s Environmental blogger, came by with Sarah van Schagen, an editor for Grist.

The reason for the visit was to look at ASU’s role in sustainability, with the School of Sustainability, and our work with the Global Institute of Sustainability.

The ReGeneration blog has some interesting features, steeped in social media. There is the grafitti wall, exploiting web 2.0 to get visitors to contribute to contribute ideas to the site. Videos are posted to Quik, and there’s a graffiti art contest with entries like the one on the left.

They have two posts, and two videos worth checking out.

The rest of the road trip is worth following, too!

Quotes form the week ending 27 September, 2008

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“Putin rears his head and comes into the air space of the United States of America, where – where do they go? It’s Alaska. It’s just right over the border…”

Governor Sarah Palin, in response to a question by Katie Couric of CBS about her experience in international relations.

“When the stock market crashed, Franklin D. Roosevelt got on the television and didn’t just talk about the, you know, the princes of greed. He said, ‘Look, here’s what happened.”

Barack Obama’s running mate, Joe Biden, displaying a poor sense of history, on the Today Show. Roosevelt was not in office at that time, and, radio, not television, was the medium used.

“In what respect, Charlie?”

Sarah Palin, in her first media interview given to ABC News. Charles Gibson asked her about her stance on the Bush Doctrine, about which she didn’t seem to have a clue.

“Turn off the rumor mills, pull down the mocked-up artwork, and say goodbye to the blogger speculation.”

Announcement of Google’s Gphone, launched in collaboration with TMobile. It is the first mobile device built around a Android, Google’s Linux application.

“He wants to socialize Wall Street and privatize Social Security. Talk about upside down.”

Reader or The Arizona Republic, Roy Otterbein or Phoenix, commenting on Bush’s approach to the financial crisis.

“Our 94-year history of leadership in the financial industry has been a source of confidence…”

Copy from a Merill Lynch full page ad, appearing in the September 20th issue of The Economist, whose cover featured a cyclone sucking up brand names Fannie Mae, AIG, Morgan Stanley, Washington Mutual, Freddie Mac, Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers.

“Talks are breaking down, I think McCain’s move just proved how important it was to be in DC.”

Tweet by one James Eiden about legislators and the White House hustling over the $7 billion bail out.

“McCain’s bluff called! Un-suspends campaign and attending 1st debate, even though $700B agreement not reached yet”

Another tweet by one Presceile, revealing how the pendulum swung.

“The US President has been wrong about so much during his eight years in office that it is tempting to dismiss his warnings of the impending financial apocalypse as yet more hyperbole – the boy crying wolf.”

Economics editor Edmund Conway or The Telegraph, on the need for the British to act fast too, and stop trying to give paracetamol to someone with a heart attack.

Happy Birthday, DipNote

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

The blog of the US State Department, DipNote, turned one this week, on Thursday.

It’s one of those blogs in my RSS reader precisely because it is not “the media” and because it captures the voices of ordinary people –the hoi polloi — in far flung places.

Sure it’s the official voice of the State Department, but not in the legally-scrubbed sort of way. It’s diplomacy in action via social media. I have had issues with the scope and speed of its coverage, but like any toddler in the social media sense, DipNote will soon get out of its diapers.

The editors point out that readers have shaped the blog, too:

“While we provide the posts, the back and forth debate gives each post a far more interesting and informative context. I firmly believe a blog’s greatest service is in getting disparate voices from varied geographical regions together in a way that would have been impossible prior to the advent of blogs.”

Congratulations, Luke and the team!

Wamu’s ad metaphor came true

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I always liked Washington Mutual, which is why I also banked with them. They sort of blamed Suze Orman for their stock price when I spoke to them on Saturday, but in the end it was the quicksand of bad loans, not bad media that dragged them down.

In their mind they conducted branch banking and relationship banking along a ‘think different’ approach. Tough when you’re dealing with a generic product – money.

This commercial was funny at the time, but since they were ‘seized‘ by the government and sold off to J.P. Morgan Chase, it’s not so funny after all. They portrayed themselves as driving the old suits to jump off into the abyss.

Ultimately it was the old suits who drove them off the ledge.

Video scrutiny keeps ’em honest

/ Angelo Fernando / 1 Comment

There are lots of web sites, political groups, media folk and organizations (even the candidates’ sites) fact-checking statements politicians make, so it must be increasingly hard to face the cameras.

Some wing it, others –like Joe Biden- completely make it up as they go, only to be found out. Everyone is up for this kind of scrutiny.

Watch Jon Stewart’s approach, running side-by-side video clips that reveal the danger of double talk.

Video scrutiny like this is playing an interesting role this election season. It must force campaign managers to think hard before deploying surrogate snipers on the campaign trail