Came across this little gem while searching through Craigslist postings. Lulz.
"If you like to garden and don't mind frequent raccoon visits then this would be a great opportunity in the city."
Source: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sfc/apa/698745286.html
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Firefox World Record Attempt!
Mary just posted the exciting news that the Firefox community is attempting to set a Guinness world record for the most software downloads in 24 hours and will occur on Firefox 3 launch day. There's some additional background on Mary's personal blog as well.
You can find out all the details here. Please get involved with this awesome community effort and help set the world record!
There are LOTS of ways to get involved. Here are a few ways you can help:
You can find out all the details here. Please get involved with this awesome community effort and help set the world record!
There are LOTS of ways to get involved. Here are a few ways you can help:
- Plan an impromptu Download Fest at your school, office, or home - anywhere with an Internet connection. Or, attend a Firefox 3 gathering.
- Join one of the following social networking groups and invite all your friends.
- Find your Firefox Campus Rep and see how you can help today or what festivities you can join.
- Add our buttons or banners to your site, blog, or profile.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Two New York, Same News?
Went to a corner store near my house to pick up a few extra copies of the New York Times. Mozilla is featured above the fold on the front page of the Business section. In a word: w00t!
I grab two copies and head to the counter to pay. The corner store guy looks at me cockeyed.
He says, "Two?"
I smile. And nod.
He looks at me again, profoundly perplexed.
He says, "Two New York, same news?"
I smile again and say, "Yes."
Sometimes it's worth paying double in order to hear good news twice.
I grab two copies and head to the counter to pay. The corner store guy looks at me cockeyed.
He says, "Two?"
I smile. And nod.
He looks at me again, profoundly perplexed.
He says, "Two New York, same news?"
I smile again and say, "Yes."
Sometimes it's worth paying double in order to hear good news twice.
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
Thursday, May 08, 2008
The slow death of the press release
People often ask me why Mozilla doesn't put out more press releases or why the releases that we do put out are relatively short and news-driven. I then proceed to pull out my PR soapbox and spout off about the changing face of media and the need for PR to adapt beyond methods that are at best unproductive, and at worst detrimental to the entire industry. That's good for drunken debates at PRSA events but not quite palatable for everyone. When I'm talking to non-PR people, I typically illustrate the concept by telling a story about my early days in PR.
In 1999, I was an intern on the Tech, Telecom, and Energy team at a global PR firm's DC office. Part of my job was to fax press releases to editorial teams at newsrooms nationwide. I would spend hours punching in the phone numbers of major newspapers and publications for a fax blast (anyone remember those?). I later heard from reporters that at the other end of the transmission, they had the incoming faxes feeding straight into a garbage can. They would use the discarded press releases as scrap paper.
I love this story for two reasons. One, it explains the immediate failing of the press release; pushing news to people without any context or expressed interest is ineffective. Two, it illustrates the ever-changing face of media and the need for PR to adapt or get sucked into the newsroom garbage can (or its modern equivalent, the editor's spam folder).
Back in October, Chris Anderson of Wired and Long Tail fame, posted a scathing indictment of the PR industry. His complaint? Being blasted with news that he didn't request and wasn't interested in receiving.
I am certainly not the first person to assert that the golden age of the lengthy mass-blast press release was coming to a close. Flickr has long been a leader in the movement to move PR beyond the press release. In early 2004, they began blogging their announcements in lieu of a traditional wire release. Tom Foremski wrote a post about this in 2006 but the progress has been slow. Two years later, social news releases are starting to gain traction but they tend to look like deconstructed versions of standard news releases.
Perhaps we are in the Web 1.0 phase of the press release. When corporate content first appeared on the Web, most companies modeled their online presence after offline norms. Businesses took their existing marketing materials and simply put them online. Mainstream media did pretty much the same thing with early online news sites. Today, the Web has progressed far beyond that. Offline ported to online does not equal Web presence. Considering this, how do we advance our understanding of PR?
At Mozilla, when we put out press releases they are often coupled with blog posts and/or FAQs in order to provide context or quick fodder for right click journalists looking for a quote. They offer a voice, a perspective, a point of view. Traditional press releases, by nature of their construct, simply cannot compete with the rich, interactive experience of the Web.
The PR industry needs to revisit the concept of the next generation press release more than once every few years. Media is always changing. PR needs to keep pace or it will go the way of fax blasting: still around but completely out of touch with the modern era.
In 1999, I was an intern on the Tech, Telecom, and Energy team at a global PR firm's DC office. Part of my job was to fax press releases to editorial teams at newsrooms nationwide. I would spend hours punching in the phone numbers of major newspapers and publications for a fax blast (anyone remember those?). I later heard from reporters that at the other end of the transmission, they had the incoming faxes feeding straight into a garbage can. They would use the discarded press releases as scrap paper.
I love this story for two reasons. One, it explains the immediate failing of the press release; pushing news to people without any context or expressed interest is ineffective. Two, it illustrates the ever-changing face of media and the need for PR to adapt or get sucked into the newsroom garbage can (or its modern equivalent, the editor's spam folder).
Back in October, Chris Anderson of Wired and Long Tail fame, posted a scathing indictment of the PR industry. His complaint? Being blasted with news that he didn't request and wasn't interested in receiving.
I've had it. I get more than 300 emails a day and my problem isn't spam (Cloudmark Desktop solves that nicely), it's PR people. Lazy flacks send press releases to the Editor in Chief of Wired because they can't be bothered to find out who on my staff, if anyone, might actually be interested in what they're pitching.
I am certainly not the first person to assert that the golden age of the lengthy mass-blast press release was coming to a close. Flickr has long been a leader in the movement to move PR beyond the press release. In early 2004, they began blogging their announcements in lieu of a traditional wire release. Tom Foremski wrote a post about this in 2006 but the progress has been slow. Two years later, social news releases are starting to gain traction but they tend to look like deconstructed versions of standard news releases.
Perhaps we are in the Web 1.0 phase of the press release. When corporate content first appeared on the Web, most companies modeled their online presence after offline norms. Businesses took their existing marketing materials and simply put them online. Mainstream media did pretty much the same thing with early online news sites. Today, the Web has progressed far beyond that. Offline ported to online does not equal Web presence. Considering this, how do we advance our understanding of PR?
At Mozilla, when we put out press releases they are often coupled with blog posts and/or FAQs in order to provide context or quick fodder for right click journalists looking for a quote. They offer a voice, a perspective, a point of view. Traditional press releases, by nature of their construct, simply cannot compete with the rich, interactive experience of the Web.
The PR industry needs to revisit the concept of the next generation press release more than once every few years. Media is always changing. PR needs to keep pace or it will go the way of fax blasting: still around but completely out of touch with the modern era.
Monday, April 21, 2008
Mozilla Firefox Wins Webware 100 Award!
A few months ago, I blogged about Mozilla Firefox being a finalist in the 2008 Webware 100 Awards.
Today, the winners were announced and Firefox won in the Browsing category. Over 1.9 million votes were cast to select these Webware 100 winners and the most votes were cast in the Browsing category.
Also, sending out congratulations to the friendly folks over at the Participatory Culture Foundation. Nice to see Miro win in the Video category.
Today, the winners were announced and Firefox won in the Browsing category. Over 1.9 million votes were cast to select these Webware 100 winners and the most votes were cast in the Browsing category.
Also, sending out congratulations to the friendly folks over at the Participatory Culture Foundation. Nice to see Miro win in the Video category.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Metablogging.
I’m sitting down to write a blog about bloggers coming to yesterday’s blogger event at Mozilla. I’m thinking about liveblogging, microblogging, and metablogging. I’m thinking I don’t know too many other PR people who would get the opportunity to write this post. I'm thinking about how much tech PR has changed since I started my career path a decade ago (though that’s probably a separate post).
The unique part of yesterday’s event wasn’t about a tech company opening the doors and inviting in a bunch of bloggers. I have been a part of those types of events in the past. What made yesterday’s event unique was that there were no embargoes, everything was on the record, and we had a bunch of non-media trained folks participate.
This is rare in PR and corporate communications. It’s much easier to do things that have proven track records for success – such as embargoes, limiting media interaction with non-spokespeople, holding events in fancy restaurants, sticking to a powerpoint deck and a strict agenda, etc. But Mozilla exists in a different space. We live in a fishbowl. We thrive in the open. We are a public benefit, mission-driven organization. And mission presented on paper doesn’t have quite the same impact as mission presented in person.
Bloggers traveled from as far away as LA and as near as Atherton. We had 10 visitors total and about 10 Mozillians there. John Lilly kicked off the event by providing some background and history on the Mozilla Project. Then Mike Schroepfer, our VP of Engineering talked about Firefox 3. We had an open Q&A session running throughout the event. I noticed this at SXSW this year as well. Running Q&A instead of formal presentation followed by formal Q&A is all the rage these days. :)
We ate some pizza and then split up by interest, not by agenda, so people were free to gravitate toward others with common interests. A lot of people met for the first time at the event but had been following and commenting on each other’s blogs for years.
I asked participants (both bloggers and Mozillians) for feedback after the event. The general consensus was that we should do more of these. So don’t worry if you missed the first one - we’re planning to have another one soon!
The unique part of yesterday’s event wasn’t about a tech company opening the doors and inviting in a bunch of bloggers. I have been a part of those types of events in the past. What made yesterday’s event unique was that there were no embargoes, everything was on the record, and we had a bunch of non-media trained folks participate.
This is rare in PR and corporate communications. It’s much easier to do things that have proven track records for success – such as embargoes, limiting media interaction with non-spokespeople, holding events in fancy restaurants, sticking to a powerpoint deck and a strict agenda, etc. But Mozilla exists in a different space. We live in a fishbowl. We thrive in the open. We are a public benefit, mission-driven organization. And mission presented on paper doesn’t have quite the same impact as mission presented in person.
Bloggers traveled from as far away as LA and as near as Atherton. We had 10 visitors total and about 10 Mozillians there. John Lilly kicked off the event by providing some background and history on the Mozilla Project. Then Mike Schroepfer, our VP of Engineering talked about Firefox 3. We had an open Q&A session running throughout the event. I noticed this at SXSW this year as well. Running Q&A instead of formal presentation followed by formal Q&A is all the rage these days. :)
We ate some pizza and then split up by interest, not by agenda, so people were free to gravitate toward others with common interests. A lot of people met for the first time at the event but had been following and commenting on each other’s blogs for years.
I asked participants (both bloggers and Mozillians) for feedback after the event. The general consensus was that we should do more of these. So don’t worry if you missed the first one - we’re planning to have another one soon!
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