So this has been a week that all of the world has been waiting for. Not only are the Olympics in full swing, but later today, Tiger Woods will break his silence (click here to read my advice for him). Some pretty exciting stuff, especially since both have the opportunity for PR snafus for us to snark on. Hope ya’ll got some great weekend plans, so with that, here’s this week’s edition of Five for Friday.

P.R. firm spreads the love on Valentine’s Day – This is an interesting concept that might be interesting for a business in any industry. Instead of milking Christmas and New Year’s why not look into V-Day as a way to say I love you to your customers/clients?

My Life as H.J. Heinz: Confessions of a Real-Life Twitter Squatter – I was put onto this story while engaging in the #PR20chat on Tuesday night and was kind of set back at how quick Twitter changed the account. Now don’t take this as saying cyber-squatting is a good thing, but from first-hand experience and talking to some flacks who have the accounts for mega-brands that have not received such treatment. Would love to know what constitutes Twitter’s action strategy.

Zaneology.TV Presents: NBA Super Star Dwight Howard Having #HowDoYouMcNugget Fun @McDonald’s – While the post and video chronicle the Zaneology experience with Superman and the hoopla about his visit to the McDonalds, the more interesting thing to see is how the burger giant is incorporating social media into their marketing and branding.

Social Media Metrics My ASS! – Now this is interesting. Not because it questions metrics, but rather the closing point on brand equity. One of these days the code will be cracked on measuring it.

Video, Customer Interactions, and Getting Seen – I am fascinated by video in social media. This is also interesting for PR & CRM and this post goes into some numbers about how companies and individuals will start to communicate via video. Kind of reminds me of those super cool video phones from the 90’s.

Bonus Video

This is just pretty sweet Shaq may have to relinquish the Superman moniker.

This has been an interesting one to say the least. We were supposed to get a giant snow storm, but it never came and we got less snow than the folks in DC, so my snow angel kind of stunk. It has also been frustrating because my issues with some of the code on this blog are kind of screwed up so the RSS and email feeds are down to some extent and the WP.org forum was no help. So if anyone out there is fluent in coding or WP hacks or fixes, please email me at jeffreyespositoAThotmailDOTcom so we can talk about what’s going on. So without further adieu, here is this week’s Five for Friday.

How To Bounce Back From A PR Disaster – This article comes from NPR and is something that all flacks to take a look at. Not only does it pertain to a PR nightmare that is going on with Toyota. It also goes into some interesting facts on recovery, some I agree with others, I call shenanigans on.

Matrix: Companies Should Factor ‘Social Influence’ Into Total Customer Value– One thing that always fascinates me is metrics in social media. There is no silver bullet and everyone is looking to string together something sticky. This piece is quiet interesting as it pulls in metrics based upon real-time influencer assistance. I would argue that companies need to care for even the smallest of customer (and influencer) but he does make some good points for his side of the fence.

Enough, Google — Just Buy Twitter Already – On Monday evening, I was Tweeting with Brett Peterselon this very issue after Google announced their version of Twitter with social status updates for Gmail. The article states something that many have been proposing for a while, it is not a matter of if, it is a matter of when only difference is the price tag and its inflation. As the article points out, the acquisition may be a game changer in holding off Facebook.

Detroit Red Wings Make Game Programs Interactive With QR Codes – In a league that is desperate for goodwill and publicity, the Red Wings are doing their part. Making their program filled with QR codes is very hip and cool, but what really stands out is their intro video that shows fans how to use it is even cooler. This not only exposes their fans to new technologies, but also includes increased exposure for their partners.

The Pros & Cons of Twitter – Forget Twitter in this title as you could easily substitute any social site into the equation. It offers a number of good points for news organizations as well.

This week was filled with some interesting tidbits and some unfortunate events. Actually make that two events, the first was being locked out of my Twitter account due to a phishing scheme and the second was a bug with the blog. A special thanks to Danny Brown and PRCog for helping me sort through the issues. I really don’t have much more – sorry – here is this week’s edition of Five for Friday.

Please Stop Automatically Equating Number of Twitter Followers With Real Influence – This is one of my pet peeves when talking to people on the impact of Twitter. Folks focus on the quantity of followers over quantity. This isn’t sex, its business and the small talk and conversations matter. I love the audacity of the response if you don’t follow me, I will unfollow you. (more…)

Here's to hoping for another upset on Sunday

Welcome to this week’s Five for Friday. This week was filled with a number of stories pertaining to tragedy as well as PR wins and a major misstep by a major media outlet. To me the week was one big blur and introspection, how about you?

If you haven’t donated money to assist the folks in Haiti, please consider donating to the Red Cross or to the effort being done by our friends at 12 for 12K (more info here).

With that said, here is today’s edition, enjoy:

Deepen your networks – This is a post from Chris Brogan that makes some very good points. While his posts typically get enough ink and don’t need a call out, this nugget is something that we can all improve on. No matter the size of your network, make time to make it better with meaningful interactions with your more valued members.

Most ridiculous names to appear in the Simpsons – When @evilPRguy sent this to me the other day, I have to admit that it was tough not to laugh and concentrate. How many of these awfully hard to say names do you remember? I counted 10-15 that I remembered off the bat.

Conan O’Brien is Better than you  … at communicating – A lot of these posts in support of the red haired one have popped up over the past few days, but this one is my favorite.  @tjdietderich has been cracking me up since this story broke and has written a great piece. Check it out.

CNN Relies on Social Media in Haiti Earthquake Coverage – Brilliant piece up from David Spinks with equally thought provoking comments. With the lack of feet on the street in terms of reporters the news behemoth has turned to the citizens to get the word out. Bleeding edge or an accident waiting to happen?

5 Steps to a Better Social Media Monitoring Plan – This one is from the Radian6 blog and offers some great tips to improving your SM monitoring strategy. What areas can you improve upon?

Lets go for a win this Sunday #5

Glad the first week back from two short weeks went by relatively quick. While the news took time to get back in the swing of things – what happened to the 24-hour news cycle?  My friend David Teicher was on board with the launch of a pretty cool new site called Shamable and my company launched a social media contest that is giving great prizes away until February 5, when a grand prize (MacBook Pro) will be announced. It’s kept me busy, but it was great to see months of planning come to a head. So without further babbling on my part, here’s this week’s five for Friday.

Staying out of the story – This story comes way of Heather Whaling, AKA @prtini, and gives some insight into one of the finer points in media relations that often goes out of the limelight – staying out of the story. Now this can be taken in a number of different ways, however Heather offers some potential steps that were done to keep a certain brand out of a story that turns out not so good for one of their competitors.

Personalized porn – Title draws you in doesn’t it? It’s OK the link is totally SFW and perhaps the greatest lie ever told. The story comes from the Gaping Void and quite humorous. Who would have ever thought that a simple white lie *cough* could turn out getting someone where they are today – so much for telling the truth on your resume.

What is engagement and how do we measure it? – This post from Jason Falls was some great wake-up reading on Monday for me. Now as a PR pro, I can see how some of the stereotypes have afflicted our industry (some self-imposed) but at the same time can see how it is a cautionary tale of making metrics to suit our needs. Are we doing it again with Social Media? Check out Jason’s piece to get his thoughts on measurement.

You’re Busted – This is a very interesting post, especially since social media also shows off our personal vanity. What does your avatar say about you? Mine (back by popular demand) is in a scuba helmet – fun, quasi-secretive and random. Check out the video from Dove at the end of the post.

When Your Company Culture Isn’t Ready for Social Media – Is your company ready for social media? If you are unsure, check out these two questions and apply them to your organization.

Today’s #followfriday was brought to us by the letter “G”