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The Best Way to Say Thank You? Give Something Back

Last week I attended a "Mentor Night" at Rowan University. This is a program that was started by Don Bagin 30 years ago to bring graduates of Rowan's Graduate Public Relations Program back to meet with current students. This time of year seems especially hectic for all of us, and it's not really convenient to trek over to campus on a Tuesday evening when so many other things are calling for our attention at work and at home.

But I remembered how a veteran of the program took the time to meet with me when I was a student years ago, and I knew that, once again, I had to honor this request for a few hours of my time. Once again I learned that those who give are often rewarded more than those who receive. A former student of mine who is now close to graduation had come to the reception just for the possibility that he might spend some time with me.

Ron Sansone already has a great job as an SEO Copywriter at razorfish, probably the largest online communications agency in the world. He didn't come to Mentor Night for help with finding a job in his specialty, or for advice on the rigorous "comps" that come at the end of Rowan's MA program in PR, or even to discuss his thesis. He came to thank me for the online communication class he had take in the summer of 2007 and the opportunity he was given there to write for the IAOC blog.

Ron Sansone's "Digg Dirt" articles can be found here. Basically, he researched how a few partisan Ron Paul advocates were manipulating Digg to boost their candidate's web exposure. His posts generated a huge response from the online community, and he says that experience helped him land the job at razorfish.

As the Mentor Night concluded, Ron said once again that he couldn't thank me enough for the help he had in launching his career. At which point I told him there is a way to thank everyone who made his online debut possible: he can come back and be a regular contributor or even a host on the IAOC blog. Ron committed to coming back in December, and I look forward to the contributions he will make.

So thank you Ron for taking time to come say "thanks" at least week's Mentor Night. And thank you especially for making the commitment to add your voice to this blog.

To all the others who might come across this article, is there someone you can thank by contributing your time to a community that helped you?

Don Dunnington

Thank You Don Bagin for Teaching Us to Say ‘Thank You'

Don Bagin was laid to rest Saturday, following a long battle with multiple-system atrophy, a neurological disease. His wife Carole told me that toward the end he could no longer communicate, a hard burden to bear for anyone but doubly so for one of the great leaders in the professional practice and teaching of communication.

But Don and Carole, their children and grandchildren did bear the burden with grace and love, and in death as in life Don set an example those who knew him will long remember.

I met Dr. Bagin nearly 20 years ago when he recruited me to teach a marketing communications course in the graduate PR program at Rowan University (then Glassboro State College). I was so impressed with the program I saw there that a few years later I enrolled in the program myself, which for the next few years put me in the unusual position of teaching my fellow classmates.

A Thanksgiving Assignment
Don was my thesis advisor, which included a small seminar class where we discussed how to research and write a thesis and prepared for the comprehensive exam that came at the end of the course of study. In November 1996, shortly before the American Thanksgiving holiday, Don handed out note cards and envelopes to the five or six of us sitting around a conference table. He told us to take the rest of the class writing a thank-you note to someone who had helped shape our lives.

This was Don's genius as a teacher: He didn't just tell his students what to do or how to do it; he made sure they actually put words into action. To Don, good intentions were always backed up with good communication and appropriate action. He practiced PR the way he practiced his life: with integrity, good humor and a large dose of gratitude. I think it was this gratitude, this ingrained thankfulness that made him such a powerful leader and helped him accomplish so much. People instinctively trust someone whose heart is filled with gratitude and respect.

An Early Test
Early in his career in 1967, Don helped stage one of the biggest public relations events any college has seen. President Lyndon B. Johnson and Soviet Premier Aleksei Kosygin met at Glassboro in the first summit meeting since the Cuban Missile Crisis. It was the sort of unanticipated opportunity that could have overwhelmed far more experienced PR managers, but Don kept his composure and kept his sense of fair play. Somehow he was able to treat 750 reporters, photographers and TV cameramen with equal respect whether from a small local newspaper or major network. 

In his 40 years at Rowan, Don taught more than 2,000 students. He reached hundreds of thousands more as the founder of "communications briefings" and the author some 300 articles and 15 books, including a school PR textbook that is used in universities around the world. I imagine every one of his 2,000 students, with countless more who he worked with or who read his newsletters, articles and books, has learned from Don's example to pay respect to those you meet in life, and to say "thank you" to those who help you.

A Final Assignment
So here's an opportunity for those who were touched by Don's teaching, or simply by reading about this remarkable man. Write a thank-you note to someone today. You can share your thank-you right here on this blog, if you wish. Either comment here (comments are moderated to reduce the spam, but your comment will by approved as quickly as possible), or write your own article. You can get a free account as a trusted poster to this blog by sending an email with your contact information (name, title, address, phone number and email) to dunnington at rowan dot edu. Be sure to put "IAOC Blog Account" in the subject line and include the email address where you want your login information sent.

Don Dunnington
President - IAOC

Live from Reykjavik.

2008 WebAward Call for Entries

With only a few weeks to go until the entry deadline, we though we would give you our 10 reasons you should enter the Web Marketing Association's 12th annual WebAward Competition for Website development.

10) If you wait until after the May 31st deadline, you'll have to pay a late fee.

9) Your mom would be proud of you.

8) You will receive important benchmark data for your entire industry and where your site ranks in each of the seven judging criteria.

7) Think of the PR opportunities - industry publications, blogs, websites, by-lined articles, podcasts, press releases, interviews - the sky is the limit.

6) A best of industry plaque containing your award winning site will look great in your office.

5) The WebAward logo on your site is like receiving the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" for Web development.

4) Your clients and customers will be impressed at your industry recognition and so will your potential clients.

3) A link to webaward.org will help your site's search engine rankings because you will be linked to an 12-year old .org authoritative site with a high Google PageRank.

2) A Best of Industry award means you're the best and you can prove it!

1) If you don't win, we won't tell anyone - and you still get the feedback.

Recognition and feedback, that is what you will receive when you enter the 2008 WebAward Competition for Website development. Winning accolades in the 2008 WebAwards - the Internet's premier award recognition program, is a great way to stand out from others in your industry. You will also receive valuable feedback from our judges and benchmarks for your industry. But you won't get anything if you don't enter!

The 12th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only a month away, and you can submit your site for review at www.webaward.org. Avoid a late fee by completing your Web site entries before the deadline.

Enter the 2008 WebAwards today and receive the recognition you deserve! 

A great whitepaper to supplement the discussion about online newsrooms

A client of PR Newswire (and of my company as the vendor to PR Newswire) wrote a thesis paper for her MBA in Communications. She happens to be the PR Manager for Varian Medical Systems and has been an active user of our MediaRoom service for three years. Meryl Ginsberg gave us permission to make a pretty whitepaper out of her thesis...born of real, hands-on experience with managing online media relations content for her company.

Here's the link to the whitepaper. Enjoy. http://www.hightech-pr.com/prn/2008_05_01/2008_05_01.html 

Papers Announced for Online Communicators 2008 Conference

The International Association of Online Communicators (IAOC) has announced the papers to be given at the 2008 International Conference to be held in Reykjavik, Iceland, June 12-13, 2008. This year’s papers include an eye-tracking study involving online journalism, issues of the media and ethics when high profile child deaths and disappearances go online, how social media and broadcast meet in radio 2.0, CEO blogging and ghost writers, student-produced online news media, and a look at the impact the virtual office has on commitment the organization.

Presenters this year are from the University of Trier (Trier, Germany), Western Carolina University (Cullowhee, North Carolina), the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida), Richard Stockton College of New Jersey (Pomona, New Jersey), Central Michigan University (Mount Pleasant, Michigan) and Rowan University (Glassboro, New Jersey).

There is still time to register for this year’s IAOC Conference, June 12-13, 2008 at the Hotel Holt in Reykjavik, Iceland. Iceland is an ideal meeting ground for those from Europe and North America. Flights are five hours or less from much of North America and about three hours from Europe.

For those from the US, it’s an opportunity to visit a European capital where the dollar still enjoys a favorable exchange rate. For Europeans, the exchange rate is even better. IAOC has a block of rooms reserved at the Hotel Holt, www.holt.is, or contact our travel service at Lina@LTTravel.com. Be sure to ask for the IAOC rate. Registration is $199 for members, $299 for non-members. For more information and online registration visit http://iaoc2008.eventbrite.com.

The following papers will be presented at the Iceland Conference:

• Preparing Online Communicators for the Future of Information Systems, by Bill Wolff and Diane Penrod
• Using Google Applications for Online Teaching:  Competition for Proprietary Educational Software in an Age of Fiscal Constraint by Kevin Lee
• Loud Voices, Silenced Voices; The Ethics of Online Content in Media Coverage of High-Profile Child Death and Child Disappearance cases by Kathryn Quigley
• User Interaction with Time-dependent Presentation in Online Journalism, Results of an Eye-tracking Study by Peter Schumacher
• The CEO as Celebrity and Blogger: Is there a Ghostwriter in the Machine? by Sam Terilli
• Issues of Organizational Commitment in the Era of the Virtual Office, by Diane Holtzman and Evonne Kruger
• Broadcast Media Meets Social Media; Radio 2.0 and the Future of Broadcasting, by Keith Brand
• Online Newsroom by Joseph Basso and Randy Hines
• Student-produced news media, how complex have their online efforts become? by Rick Sykes
• Old Needs, New Demands:  How Online Communication has Re-shaped the Practice of School PR, by Edward H. Moore
• Research Methodology for Web 2.0, by Chandrasekhar Vallath
• Effective Tactics During a Product Recall: A Case Study of the Menu Foods Pet Food Recall by Melissa Bass
• Online Libel and the Court’s attempt to apply First Amendment protection to an emerging medium, by Joseph Basso

Internet PR Chat Series Transcript: Online Newsrooms

PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~  CHAT TRANSCRIPT  ~
Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Online Newsrooms
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: April 18, 2008

LAST SESSION
Opening URL: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/default.mspx

Who uses online newsrooms?
- Journalists to gather information, background and supplemental information
- Company in crisis
- Non-media trying to break through. Customer service inquiries, job applicants
- Investors and analysts
- Attorneys and investigators
- Own employees and investors

What should a newsroom contain?
1. Must contain
      - Contact information
2.  Should contain
     - News releases, current
     - High-resolution artwork
     - Searchable news release archive
     - Financial Information, especially for publicly traded companies
     - Management profiles EXAMPLE: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/exec/default.mspx?group=A-D

3. Bells and whistles
    - Newsletters
    - Transcripts of speeches
    - Calendar of events
    - Stand on political issues
    - Roster of employees, directory
   - Broadcast room EXAMPLE: http://br.thenewsmarket.com/Microsoft/br/Login/LoginPreRegistration.aspx
    RESTRICTED ACCESS
        - Contact information OK so emplyees are not spammed
        - Could limit coverage for your business
4. Should not contain
    - Dated material you cannot maintain
    - Message boards
   
EXAMPLE:  http://www.apple.com/pr/
    - Contact information: public
    - News release example: Final Cut Server Shipping
        - No personal contact information on release because of archive issues
    - Images for the media: Airport Express
        - Include format of the artwork including size

ONLINE CRISIS COMMUNICATIONS:  2 Strategies
1. DUCK: what crisis, what problem?
    - Pretend it is not there and hope it goes away
     EXAMPLE: http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/press/prindex.html
    - Archive of news releases
    - Special Web site to deal with media: http://www.swamedia.com
    - Making significant changes on a daily basis
2. STAND TALL: want your side of the story to be told.
    - Pro and con
     EXAMPLE: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/legalnews.mspx
    - Provide exhaustive information on the topic
    - Document the entire story to get your side of the information out
    - Dark Web site - Emergency Web site that redirects people to the crisis information


Class Podcast:
http://www.authorviews.com/authors/promo/chatsessions/online_newsrooms.wav

Internet PR Chat Series Transcript: Search Engine Optimization

PATRON SAINT PRODUCTIONS, INC.
~  CHAT TRANSCRIPT  ~
Patron Saint Productions, Inc.
Internet PR Chat Series

Topic: Search Engine Optimization
Guests: Steve O'Keefe, author of "Complete Guide to Internet Publicity"
Date: April 11, 2008

Opening URL for the day:       http://www.google.com

Search Engine Optimization: The science of trying to get people to come to your site (increase traffic).
Careful, traffic can be a bad thing:
 - Expenses rise as traffic increases.
 - Unwanted viewers
 - hackers
 - lawyers

GOOGLE: algorithm - ranking system based on metatags
On Web site look for source code:

Example site: Google search food - pick LA Times
- Title bar tag (keywords) helps Google understand what is on that page

Example: Food News, Recipes & Restaurant Reviews - Los Angeles Times
- Keywords tag (non in this example). No more than 50, separated by commas

Example: meta name="keywords" content="" /
- Description tag. 25 word of what is on your Web site, not what you do.

Example: meta name="description" content="Find food & wine news and reviews on restaurants, recipes, cooking, desserts, chefs, fine dining, cuisine, Los Angeles restaurants, four star restaurants & more." /

What Google looks for to rank:
- tags match content (you will get the Google smack down if you do not represent yourself properly with tags and content. Smack down = moved to the bottom of the search list)
- linkage (how many sites link to your site)
- popularity among searchers (when Google offers options, how many times are you chosen)

Recommendations to optimize your site:
- Follow metatags rules
- Annual search engine optimization check
    - find out where you are in searches
    - update metatags
- Register your Web site with search engines
http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates.html
    - Web site registration list
    http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates/regreport.html
- Linkage campaign (expect 20-25% success rate)
    - Link letter
    http://www.patronsaintpr.com/resources/templates/linkreport.htm    
    - When asking for linkage ask these questions:    
        - Is the site dead or not?
        - Do they have links to other site (links or resources)?
        - Who should I pitch?
Example: Eric Ward article on link letters http://www.clickz.com/showPage.html?page=831971
    -Find a super site (someone that has made it their job to be a resource on the topic)

Here's a link to the sessions podcast:
http://www.authorviews.com/authors/promo/chatsessions/080411.wav

Internet PR Class Focuses on Blog PR and Blog Tours

Here's an update on how things are going with the Friday Internet PR Chat Series I've been running through the IAOC, the Patron Saint Productions site, and my Internet PR class at Tulane University. The chat program is live and free every Friday from 12 noon to 1:00 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time.

We began the series using Skype software as our conferencing interface and have since switched to using FreeConferenceCall.com. The phone number is +1-712-451-6100 Access Code: 596632#. The first half of each hour I lead a lesson (see schedule); the second half is open brainstorming. We still use Skype to pass URLs and documents during the call, so send your Skype name if you want to join that way. We might soon switch from Skype to a different Instant Messenger or Chat software -- I'll post a message here if we do.

The class is an intense experiment in new communications technology. We are test-driving all these different communications interfaces and half of the learning experience is how to fuss with teleconferencing tools to make them work properly and, sometimes, magically.

The schedule was shuffled a bit and this Friday we are covering Blog PR, certainly one of the most important sessions of the class. We'll be looking at building blogs, posting on blogs, commenting on blogs, sucking up to blogmasters, blog touring -- all in a half hour! So don't miss it.

In the meantime, I have asked the students in my Internet PR class to each find an article about Blog Touring and summarize it here as comments on this post. I hope to speak with some of you on Friday. I'll be posting my own article on blogging here sometime after Friday's chat session.

STEVE O'KEEFE

Fun History of IcelandAir, the national airline of Iceland

During the sixties and seventies, the airline became a favorite choice of college students who were making their first trips ...

Iceland-Otherworldly...

HOT? COOL? FIRE? ICE?

Advanced Learning Institute to Sponsor IAOC

IAOC would like to welcome the Advanced Learning Institute (ALI) and its Social Media for Internal Communications Conference as a sponsor of IAOCblog.com.

The Social Media for Internal Communications Conference covers topics such as blogging, podcasting, new web 2.0 technologies, and how these technologies impact business. The event takes place in San Fransisco, CA on February 4-7, 2008, with an exciting lineup of presenting organizations. To learn more, feel free to check out the conference brochure.

To register for the Social Media for Internal Communications Conference, please fill out this registration form, or contact ALI customer service at 1-888-362-7400, ext 1 -- mention IAOC and get $200 off!!!

In addition, anyone who attends this conference will also receive $50 off IAOC's June 2008 conference in Iceland! More details on the IAOC conference to come.

Coming Up on IAOCblog: Books, Reputation Management, and YOU!

We at IAOCblog would like to wish our readers in the U.S. a Happy Thanksgiving. We are in a membership drive now and we are thankful for your financial support.

Morty Schiller, Don Dunnington, and me, Steve O'Keefe, are working on these upcoming programs for "This Week on IAOCblog.com":

Book Review Week!
Send us your books to review on the blog. I'll be reviewing two textbooks for 2008 classes at Tulane University and George Washington University. Morty's got a couple books he's anxious to blog about. We welcome your book reviews, too.

Online Reputation Management
There's no hotter topic in Online PR than reputation management. We're trying to coax Sally Falkow to come school us on the subject as soon as her schedule allows.

How About You?
Do you have a show idea for "This Week on IAOCblog.com"? We are building our schedule for the Winter 2008 Season which begins in January. Guest bloggers are asked to take the helm for a week and bring a couple of colleagues with you. Contact info is below.

Thanks to Peter Gloor, Lois Kelly, Dave Taylor, Dianna Huff, Shel Horowitz and Ted Demopoulos for making the Fall 2007 Season on IAOCblog.com an outstanding success. Unique visitors to the site averaged 25,000/month this fall while pageviews averaged 100,000/month! Well done!

Send your show suggestions or books for review to:

STEVE O'KEEFE
steve.okeefe at patronsaintpr.com

MORTY SCHILLER
morty at mortyschiller.com

DON DUNNINGTON
DDunnington at ktron.com