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Pain management is an incredibly important field; and Jordan Sudberg has been one of the field’s most pre-eminent specialists. Dr. Sudberg is the CEO and Medical Director of Spine & Sports Rehabilitation. He served as a research scientist at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital in the tissue engineering department. Sudberg also served as a research scientist at Columbia University in the Department of Cardiology in the Exercise physiology lab, studying the effects of cardiovascular exercise.

During his extensive training, Dr. Sudberg developed a deep interest in Regenerative Medicine Techniques. He is certified and trained in ultrasound guided injections as well as in viscosupplementation. He is certified and trained in Nerve Conduction Studies at Columbia University Presbyterian Hospital in Nerve Conduction Studies. His specific areas of interest pertain to elite fitness, regenerative medicine and peak performance.

Sudberg and other medical professionals recognize the importance of members of the public receiving truthful information during public health crises. The COVID-19 pandemic has sadly accentuated the importance of combatting misinformation about matters of public health, in a way that has never happened before.

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Shlomo Rechnitz and his unique philanthropic gestures over the years are great examples of stories that the media rightfully lent coverage to. The consequences of such coverage can indeed be positive in a myriad of different ways. First and foremost, it’s no secret that our nation’s youth consume inordinate amounts of television and spend considerable time browsing the web.

It’s also no secret that there are sadly a lack of role models that our youth can turn to in society. For that reason, positioning accomplished philanthropists and their particular acts of generosity in the limelight is something so important. Indeed our nation’s youth are impressionable; and while there are those out there who could qualify as positive role models for them, those people rarely get the recognition they deserve.

In many ways the story of Shlomo Rechnitz personifies not only the American dream, but also what we educate our children to do with whatever professional and financial success they may achieve. Through innovation and creativity, Rechnitz successfully created numerous American businesses that have afforded thousands of people employment opportunities. Beyond that, he has given back to his community in a multitude of different ways.

Over the years those in the media who have covered his acts of philanthropy deserve plaudits, even while doing so against Rechnitz’s wishes. Ensuring that members of the youth demographic have a role model like Rechnitz they can seek to emulate, is indeed a public service.

The post Media Coverage of Philanthropy: Shlomo Rechnitz appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

After slowly gaining traction with younger audiences during its American debut in 2017, the platform’s popularity has exploded year over year. In 2020 alone, TikTok had more than half a billion active users worldwide, including over 100 million from the United States. 

The TikTok boom has introduced new challenges but also new opportunities for social media marketers. Now, brands have an entirely new channel to engage with a young, growing, and passionate audience. 

Marketing on TikTok can present unique requirements compared to more established platforms, but it can become a powerful part of any effective social media strategy when leveraged appropriately.

If you’re looking to tap into the massive potential of the TikTok platform, here are all the basics you need to know to develop an actionable strategy.

So…What Is TikTok, Anyway?

Let’s start things with the basics. TikTok is a social platform available on iOS and Android where users can post short videos of themselves, typically no more than one minute long. Think of it as the continuation of the now-defunct Vine without that app’s signature seven-second time limit. 

TikTok videos can encompass everything from music videos to dances to lifehacks to vlogs…the list goes on. It’s an incredibly versatile platform: it might have started life as a music app similar to Musical.ly, but it’s evolved to become so much more. TikTok lovers continue to push boundaries, creating just about every kind of short-form video content imaginable on the platform. 

Why Target TikTok?

Maybe you already have successful video marketing strategies lined up for other social platforms like Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. You might be wondering, why should you put time and resources into TikTok?

Simply put, targeting TikTok in your social media strategy allows you to tap into a vast and growing platform passionately used by a young and diverse audience. It’s not a passing fad, either – despite numerous attempts to take it down, TikTok is projected to enjoy continued growth for years to come. 

TikTok might have a reputation as teenagers’ platform of choice, but in reality, the apps’ users are hugely varied. While teenagers and adolescents make up a third of the app’s audience, another third is over the age of 30 – giving marketers access to a vast audience from many walks of life.

Marketers who have already capitalized on TikTok’s rapid expansion have seen noticeable benefits for themselves. TikTok has one of the highest rates of user engagement of any social media app, meaning that brands who establish a presence on the app can foster a more connected audience. 

Organizations that have taken part in the TikTok craze are already seeing the benefits for themselves. Brands like EA Games and L’Oreal developed specialized hashtags and videos for the platform that have gone on to accumulate tens of billions of views – and that’s just one example out of many.

How Do You Use TikTok In Your Social Media Strategy?

Successful marketing on TikTok has to be a little different than other platforms. You can’t recycle the same text posts or videos you use on Twitter and Facebook. Instead, when you’re looking to market your brand on TikTok, you need to create entirely original content with one goal in mind: going viral.

You’ll need to make your videos laser-focused on grabbing users’ attention and growing engagement with your brand. It can be tough to accomplish at first, but it’s a manageable goal by following a few simple tips.

Keep these actionable pieces of advice in mind when you set out to integrate TikTok into your marketing campaign.

• Keep things (very) short and sweet. It’s always good to be concise as a general rule of thumb, but on TikTok, it’s a necessity. You only have a minute to present your video, and with millions of other TikToks vying for users’ attention, you need to make that time count. Create your videos to be punchy, brief, and to the point. Try to open with something that immediately hooks your audience, whether that’s flashy colors or zany humor.
• Stay trendy. Trends are essential for any social platform, and TikTok is no different. Keep a close eye on the “trends” tab on the app; if you see a trending hashtag or challenge that’s relevant to your brand, jump on it as quickly as you can. Capitalizing on trends is a great way to reach audiences that wouldn’t engage with your brand otherwise.
• Be creative. TikTok is home to billions of videos, with millions more added every day. If you want yours to stand out, then it’s critical to think outside the box. Follow trends, but make sure you put your own spin on them. Your brand has a unique identity, and your social content should always reflect that. Sometimes the riskiest ideas are the most successful when it comes to social growth and engagement, so let your creative juices flow when you’re making TikToks.
• Focus on information. Contrary to what you might think, TikTok isn’t all about memes and silly dances. Some of the platform’s most popular and engaging videos are all about sharing helpful or informative content. Your brand can do the same thing by creating TikToks that quickly and simply walk your viewers through a procedure, whether that’s tossing pizza dough, jumping a car, or any other activity relevant to your business. 
• Make your own hashtags. There’s nothing stopping you from making your own trends! You can expand brand awareness by developing specialized hashtags and creating TikToks supporting them. Doing so can increase brand familiarity and, if you end up with a viral hit on your hands, dramatically boost brand loyalty.

How Do You Develop a TikTok Social Strategy?

It’s one thing to make great TikToks, but it’s something else entirely to know how to market them. It’s essential to have a clear-cut, formal strategy in place when you start developing your TikTok social media plans.

Consider the following elements of a successful TikTok strategy.

• Keep your goals in mind. You should have concrete objectives for TikTok marketing, whether they include generating leads, driving sales, growing social followers, or anything else. Having goals will help you stay focused and measure your success.
• Upload consistently. You can maintain interest in your TikTok efforts by implementing a regular upload schedule, which can also help you retain an audience and build a following.
• Dedicate resources. It might be tempting to take a budget approach to TikTok marketing, but that’s simply not fair. Like any other marketing channel, TikTok has serious potential to increase profits and boost your brand’s reputation. Make sure that you set aside enough resources to explore TikTok thoroughly.
• Watch your analytics. You can always ensure that your TikTok strategy stays on the right track by eying your analytics and checking that you meet your desired benchmarks in terms of engagements, shares, or impressions.

TikTok might be the new kid on the block for social media marketing, but there’s no denying its possibilities. Taking the plunge to invest resources in TikTok marketing can feel like a major risk, but by going with it one step at a time, you can eventually reap the results.

Author Bio: 

Torrey Tayenaka

Torrey Tayenaka is the co-founder and CEO at Sparkhouse, an Orange County based video production agency. He is often asked to contribute expertise in publications like Entrepreneur, Single Grain and Forbes. Sparkhouse is known for transforming video marketing and advertising into real conversations. Rather than hitting the consumer over the head with blatant ads, Sparkhouse creates interesting, entertaining and useful videos that enrich the lives of his clients’ customers. In addition to Sparkhouse, Torrey has also founded the companies Eva Smart Shower, Litehouse & Forge54.

The post TikTok is Changing How We Consume Media: Here’s How to Integrate TikTok to Your Video Marketing Strategy in 2021 appeared first on Social Media Explorer.

Considering that the majority of people are under educated about the Constitution and historical precedence, the wrong kind of reporting can cause confusion, frustration and, as we have seen in recent months, a sort of sheep mentality that can be dangerous to the foundation of our country.

Syndicated Columnist, Andrew Napolitano understands the importance of being clear and direct while reporting a story. His years as a judge and contributor to numerous publications have provided readers and listeners with straightforward, factual information. His contributions to coverage of events that affect the lives of millions are grounded in law, legal precedent and truth, the gold standard of reporting.

Sensationalism and ratings grabs when reporting the news have become the new norm in many mainstream outlets, morphing into an entertainment of sorts as viewers watch and wait to see who will make the next move. This leaves the facts mired in a soup of hyperbole and instead of a clear fact based understanding of the events, viewers and listeners are left in more of an emotional state than a clarifying one.

Andrew Napolitano‘s experience as a judge in the N.J. The Superior Court has given him the background of law, a deep Constitutional understanding and his opinions are backed by those and legal precedent that he believes would lay the groundwork for future decisions.

Although sometimes unpopular because they go against the mainstream ideas, these opinions are consistent and his readers and listeners can count on clear and direct reporting of the facts, events, and their impact on the lives of the people. Upholding the standards of reporting by not only presenting facts accurately but also portraying the whole story factually are the key to this kind of concise news reporting. This is the standard that you can expect from his clear and direct reporting of the events as they present themselves.

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Reliable Internet connection and communication infrastructure

Today, it is unthinkable that any place with human traffic could be without an internet connection. A lot of technology relies heavily on the internet, so it is important to have a stable internet connection in the office. Likewise, communication infrastructure is indispensable, and its services should be accessible throughout. These infrastructural developments are fundamental, and they are essential for facilitating operations and communication within the firm as well as with the outside world. There are multiple service providers in the market, so making a reliable choice shouldn’t be a challenge.

Cloud-based Word processing software

Preparing and dispatching documents makes the largest part of business operations in the firm, and anyone would dread working in a deficient office. A law agency is nothing without reliable document generation and word processing software. With constant technological advancement, tech giants are offering cloud-based software access, which enables users to access software easily through an internet connection. They don’t have to install the bulky software on every device they use, and they don’t constantly need to upgrade their hardware to keep up to speed.

Customer relations management (CRM) software

It might not look like it, but a law agency is a business. One way to keep a business blooming is by giving customers the best experience they can ever find. CRM software is crucial in a law agency that intends to maintain impeccable customer service and retain a pool of happy customers. CRM software also helps to collect customer data and feedback for future use.

Data storage devices

In a law agency, investing in data storage infrastructure is inevitable. Countless files are deceived and dispatched every day, and keeping a copy of each is paramount. Traditional safes and filing cabinets no longer fit in the equation. An electronic filing system enables easy access, retrieval, and sharing of files, which is why every law agency should work hard to have it.

Data security

Due to the delicate nature of data flowing in and out of a law agency, data security is as important as the data itself. Being an embassy of the law means that leaving anything to chance is intolerable recklessness. A law agency should invest in security technology to ensure that data all the data being received or dispatched is secured. This also includes securing internet connections, malware deterrence, and safeguarding electronic data banks.

A law firm should invest in technological solutions that make it a safe place to work in, a versatile workplace, and an authority business participant. The goal is to spur overall growth and success in the firms, according to Judge Napolitano.

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Take a look at any social listening scan for the sources of the data and Twitter can account for half, two-thirds, three-fourths or more of the social media conversations.

Things Are Changing…

But the social listening platforms have conveniently forgotten to stress that they do not index the vast majority of Facebook, which is hidden behind privacy firewalls. At the Conversation Research Institute, our testing shows that anywhere from 45% to 90% of all conversations about a given topic online happen on Facebook.

We’re missing that understanding. And we don’t have much time before our only look into it will be gone.

Facebook has told social listening partners it will sunset its search access, broadly known as Facebook Topic Data, in September of this year. I, for one, am disheartened by the news since I spend most of my days deciphering online conversations for brands. Facebook Topic Data is the only way to see what conversations look like on the world’s largest social network

But there is a glimmer of hope and it comes in the form of Facebook Advertising. More specifically, Facebook Ad Manager.

A Brave New Facebook Targeting Option

When Facebook Topic Data is sunset in September, there will likely be an entirely new suite of products offered by a handful of Facebook’s partners that add more depth and breadth to its advertising targeting features.

I’m told by multiple people at a half dozen companies that the indications are that the added feature sets will likely bring targeting based on conversation dynamics to the table.

If you read the tea leaves a bit, this means Facebook Topic Data wasn’t really driving the kind of revenue Facebook hoped for and is thus turning conversation data into targeting data. It will perhaps allow you to target your advertising to anyone talking about Topic A in a negative (or positive) sentiment and/or using the qualifying behavior indicators (like want, buy, hate, love, etc.).

Moving Forward

This is all conjecture on my part. But it is also hopefulness. Since Facebook’s walled garden is the most plentiful in the conversation research set, I want at it. If these advertising features are what Facebook’s partners have been challenged to create (which I think they are), then researching conversation on Facebook may not be dead.

And advertising targeting is going to get a whole lot more sophisticated by year’s end.

Whether you’re a researcher or an advertiser, the prospect is exciting. Here’s to 2017!

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While I wish the mistakes and short-sightedness was limited to amateur media, much of which is found in today’s blogosphere, the so-called “professionals” mucked it up just as bad. Buzzfeed did a nice run down of that catastrophe, but did so in the URL of a post they originally ran that erroneously reported the news as well. The FBI even lambasted media that messed that up.

Still, there were two faux pas (pas’s ?) I believe have the potential to change social media forever.

Imagine you are Salah Barhoun, a 17-year-old high school student, and your picture is on the cover of the New York post with an article that identifies you as an alleged bagman in the crime. Imagine that 4chan and Buzzfeed are fueling viral posts with pictures of you walking with your backpack around the bombing site before it happened. Imagine you have to rush to the police on Tuesday to clear your name but can’t possibly shake the suspicion of those who see you walking down the street in today’s fractured media world where rumor and assumpion rule.

Salah Barhoun could potentially sue every website that carried his photograph

Would you potentially think you had a case to sue for libel? I sure would. And no, the word “alleged” doesn’t clear the media from wrongdoing. If he were alive, you could ask Richard Jewell about that. He went from hero to suspect to hero to paydays from CNN and NBC because he was falsely identified as a suspect in the Olympic Park bombing of 1996. No, he wasn’t able to shut either network down due to the heftiness of the fines, but what kind of financial coffers do many of today’s blogs have?

Those were the days when traditional media was all there was. Today, the world is different.

Thursday night and Friday as the manhunt exploded, so did the irresponsibility of media and non-media like. The Today Show’s Facebook stream even featured an individual who named the “white hat” suspect. The only problem? The name was mentioned over a police scanner but was never officially identified as a suspect. NBC, Buzzfeed and others reported the name as well. Then later recounted. But the recounting won’t take back the fact that Sunil Tripathi, if he is in fact not connected to the bombing, may forever have fallout because his name was linked to the act. If he turns out to be one of the bombers, does it make it right that, without facts, people were reporting his name as a suspect, pleading that he be killed?

What we saw last week was what anarchy looks like. No rules. No constraints. No justice. No government. Just the will of the (under-informed) people running amok. Thankfully, it was online in conversations and on in our streets. But that doesn’t make it right. It also doesn’t make it legal.

With a world full of media members — professional and amateur — where the lines blur between, someone is going to step up and test the judicial system’s tolerance for such reporting. If Barhoun, Tripathi or their families decide their peaceful lives, privacy or safety was or is compromised, they could file suit against any website that carried the pictures, the names or the claims. Can you imagine how many websites that entails?

While the laws, burden of proof and standards are quite different in Britain, anyone who retweeted a BBC story that falsely reported Lord Alistair McAlpine was a child molester was subject to a financial penalty and apology, forced by the courts. Kinda makes you wonder what would happen to you if the laws in the U.S. were the same, right? Post a link to that 4chan thread or Buzzfied article and YOU could be subject to penalty for helping drag Barhoun’s face through the mud. Or indicate Tripathi should be arrested, imprisoned, punished or killed.

Of course, every bit of this conversation is conjecture. No lawsuits have been filed, to my knowledge. But the potential is there. It will be the next time blogs and media get hold of an alleged assailant or bombing suspect, too.

At some point, someone will sue the bejeezus out of these websites. And they will win.

Can 4chan sustain millions in legal fees and damages? Buzzfeed? Your blog?

The justice system, at least in the United States, is reactive rather than proactive. As such, it takes the courts years to catch up with cultural shifts, especially in communications. The first lawsuits effecting social media only emerged in the last few years. They’ll keep coming. And soon, they’ll change the way we are able to report, retort and even retweet.

Buckle up.

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Nashville. A little bit of country, and a whole lot of rock-n-roll and soul – when it comes to music and food. And on Friday this week, Nashville will be loud, rockin and groovin with a star-studded line up of social media mavericks. These razzle-dazzle digital marketers will give it all they got, and that’s a lot, to help make the world a better place when it comes to best practices for business growth. Agencies, consultants and in-house marketers are planning to attend this event and I am counting down to Friday’s full day of Explore in Nashville.

My Expectations for Explore Nashville:

Engagement

I’m looking forward to the engagement from the networking opportunities in Nashville. As a consultant, I have a real need to build real relationships in my industry. For me, it isn’t about the quantity of Twitter followers, it is about the quality of the relationships. Explore reaches out and draws in high quality professionals and provides the IRL (in real life) opportunity for handshakes and eye contact. Anyone in media knows, real relationships, engagement and conversations cannot exist in 140 characters alone.

Anyone who knows Jason Falls understands his high standard of quality. As the event promoter and host, he will certainly draw in a level of professionals who are up to snuff, not in a snobby, pretentious way, but in a genuine make-me-smarter brain exchange.

Networking with high quality professionals is important to me. Also, I’m hoping to learn something that I don’t already know. That’s right, I said it. I’m hoping and expecting to learn.

Depth

I’ve attended several social media conferences in the past year and frankly, I’m bored with the content that the majority of the speakers have offered. I went to SXSW earlier this year with 22,000 other media professionals. Fortunately I had a press pass that paid for my registration, because if I would have paid out of pocket for some of those light-weight, self promoting sessions, I would have been pissed. The real value I gained from SXSW this year was in the networking nirvana.

I realize that SXSW did have a lot of amazing speakers peppered throughout the full week of interactive sessions, some speakers who will be presenting at Explore, in fact. The event was enormous and overwhelming; finding excellent content at SXSW often felt like searching for a needle in a haystack, much like finding meaningful and unique content in the blogosphere can feel at times.

Bored of all the basic 101 level of tips on blogging, tweeting, pinning and the latest B, I’m confident in the quality and delivery of content each of the Explore speakers will share. Jason wouldn’t allow just any joe-blow to present smoke and mirror crap. Remember, Jason wrote a book to debunk all that is bullshit when it comes to social media. I’m expecting to get bonafide brilliance from the experienced digital media professionals as I search for a level of content that stretches my mind and gives me hands-on tips and best practices in today’s marcom world.

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At the time the idea didn’t feel right. The technology was getting there or was already there but that didn’t mean everyone was adopting it right away. Fast forward to 2011, and most people will find out about this blog post through someone’s lifestream on Twitter. Our imagination tends to outpace our ability to invent. And something can be invented long before it’s a conventional part of people’s lives.

So we must separate the bells and whistles from the nuts and bolts.

Creating a strategy focused on measurable business goals will help you develop a filter that helps decipher flash-in-the-pan technologies from the sea changes. (How to develop this type of strategy is an entirely different post topic).

But instead of focusing on the technology side of the future, focus on the human side. Human behavior is a more consistent bet than technology. If we prepare our website for the future with human nature in mind, we will put our organization in a good position regardless of how the flood of technology leaves things.

5 Future-proof ideas for websites

If we bet on technology, we can either be really right, or really wrong. But if we bet on human nature, we can count on consistency and know that our website is going to be well-positioned for the future. Besides, there’s no prize for beating your audience to the future (unless you’re the inventor).

The website of the future must be:

1. Simple
2. Portable
3. Fast
4. Human
5. Useful and/or interesting

1. Make it simple

People value simplicity

Every day, more than 100 million pieces of content are shared on Facebook. More than 90 million Tweets are Tweeted. About 50,000 new blogs are created to get stacked on top of the 150 million+ that are already out there. As you read this, some of the 294 billion emails that are sent each day are being written.

We’re in an era of information overload. Our audience members are busy people who are overcommitted *outside* of their Internet lives. It’s a small miracle each time they make it to our sites so we shouldn’t overwhelm them once they get there.

The first step in preparing your website for the future happens offline. Websites are often a reflection of the organization that created them. If our organization is disorganized, silo-ed, and poor at communicating, our website will be, too. Design by committee often results in a battlefield of compromise where your visitor is the casualty. As an organization, we must go through the difficult task of truly answering some basic but powerful questions:

1. What kind of person is my audience member?
2. What’s the one thing they actually want from me?
3. What one action do I want them to take?

There are no Swiss army-knife sites (except for maybe Google). We need to simplify, specialize and stick to our core mission or risk becoming irrelevant.

If the future of the web is simplicity, here’s how you can prepare:

• Boil down your organization’s core offering
• Conduct a 5-second usability test (fivesecondtest.com)
• Conduct a website audit: check for competing initiatives on your own site
• Check your analytics to see where you are losing visitors

2. Make it portable

People value convenience

The world is going mobile in a hurry. You’ve heard the stats. By 2015, 48% of U.S. citizens will browse the mobile web. Nearly 150 million people will own smartphones and mobile traffic will increase 26-fold.

Mobile isn’t a trend. Mobile is the trend.

But the web isn’t just going to mobile devices, it’s going to any screen that can present the internet. Think kiosks, augmented-reality digital signage, screens we haven’t thought of yet. The web is going to be portable: found wherever a digital screen exists.

When you’re creating a mobile version of your website (which should be your priority over running out to create a mobile app just to create one), the simplicity you gained in step 1 (“Make it simple) will help pave the way for you to create a simpler menu that satisfies your audience members desires on your site.

To prepare your site for mobile:

• Start thinking now about how you’d simplify your navigation menu and site content
• Discontinue developing Flash elements into your website, focus on HTML or JavaScript
• Focus on mobile-friendly first, and then app (if it makes sense)

3. Make it fast

People hate waiting

Nobody likes to stand in line. Waiting is tough for people. That’s why 40% of web users have abandoned a page after 3 seconds of loading.

Taking the steps to making sure our sites load quickly will have benefits to user experience and SEO. People are more likely to click through more on quickly-loading sites. And Google has mentioned that they take load speed into consideration in their algorithm.

Remember, simple sites load faster. And this is even more true (and more important) in mobile.

To get your site sped up for the future:

• Check site load speed
• Run Yahoo’s YSlow
• Run Google’s Page Speed Online
• Create a checklist of tweaks to apply to your current (or to be created) site

4. Make it human

People crave human interaction

We’ve heard the statistics on social media. And to be fair, a lot of organizations are at least trying social media. But the humanization of your website shouldn’t be limited to your social media pre-approved channels.

Social media – or the human element – should be a layer across your digital presence, not a channel-based silo. Humanity evokes emotion from people. Showing the human side of your organization can have many benefits.

For instance, during the Clinton Bush Haiti Fund donation drive, an A/B split test was conducted to see which donation form was more effective and generating donations. One form had a photo from Haiti, the other did not. The one with the photo – the human – element – converted 10% better and resulted in $1 million more in donations.

The social side of your organization can come out anywhere you have content. Your email subscription thank you, your administrative copy, your error messages can all incorporate the human element.

For instance, this error message was written in a more human-friendly way and decreased the bounce rate by 66%

If the future of the web is social, here’s how to prepare:

• Take inventory of your social media outposts: are you acting like a logo or a person?
• Investigate where your audience socializes online (Try CubeSocial.com)
• Start monitoring social media to keep tabs on influencers and your audience

5. Be useful or interesting

People love a good story

An article this long has to include the cliché “content is king” at least once so here it is: content is king. In a recent survey, 73% of people said they preferred to learn about organizations through articles as opposed to ads. Content is 61% more likely to drive someone to make a purchase than ads, and content can live forever on your website.

The power of a good story is strong.

And content can pay dividends down the road for your site. A Tweet or Facebook post usually only lasts for hours. A blog post can last for years.

The future of the web is storytelling, so start generating content that captivates your audience because it’s useful or interesting (or both!)

If you want to prepare for the future of the web, focus on human nature. Make it simple, portable, fast, social, useful and interesting you’ll be ahead of the race.

This post was the blog version of “The Future of Websites,” a presentation given by Andrew on September 15th for the Association Media & Publishing “Lunch and Learn” series.

The original presentation:

(Special thanks to Jackie Roy for patient help on this presentation.)

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You’d think “journalism” was dead as a door nail. Newspapers, magazines and TV news are in decline, and the golden age of reporting dating back to Watergate is long over. Yet there’s a demand in Silicon Valley, and beyond, for people who can dig up stories, create interesting angles, and write compelling blogs.

That sounds like a journalist to me.

Bob Duffy, a senior social media strategist at Intel, got me thinking about this when I spoke to him a few days ago. Duffy, acting Community Manager for Intel’s AppUp(SM) developer program, isn’t an editor, PR guy or traditional marketer. But he does understand the need for journalism skills – and he’s right in the middle of an emerging trend, with brands taking on new publishing and platform responsibilities.

The way he sees it is that there are several levels of “media” now: the traditional media (ex: WSJ); major influencers (ex: Engadget), independent bloggers/influencers (ex: Steve “Chippy” Paine, product reviewer) , and then, corporate blogs and communities.

Duffy points out that brands like Intel are doing a lot of what independents and other media are doing- interviewing developers, showcasing best practices, creating connections between different tech players. Basically he’s trying to create the platform and context for key industry discussions–and draw in developers (also see his blog here). *

This is a long way from the old PR model, where you court a few select media and try to control the message and outcome.  Duffy’s reaching out to anyone and everyone that could be part of the community, and lets the discussions flow.

“We don’t try to control the conversation or message, we just want to provide the context.”

The key point is Intel is stepping into a new role-it’s not really PR or marketing. It’s more of an aggregator role, a facilitator of conversations around key topics. Even that description comes up a little short since it indicates a semi-passive strategy vs Intel’s aggressive approach.

For instance, Duffy’s constantly reaching out to developers and providing that platform for discussion. “I notice you wrote something on XYZ subject in our forum, would you mind writing a blog for us and giving us your perspective?..”

It’s also playing the role of story-teller, or at least facilitating stories.

The new model- corporation as facilitator, story-teller, and new media-confuses many people who are accustomed to the old media model. When I was driving a new editorial program last year to transform HP’s enterprise blogs, most managers got it-but not all; some (including my old manager) just couldn’t break away from the old marketing model to embrace the new one.

One reason is we all grew up with these old marketing and media models, and there’s  been little disruption to the media model for decades. There was THE MEDIA (the professional editors, producers, etc) and THE CONSUMER. You consumed content. The media produced it. Real media pros (and I was one) looked skeptically at non-journalists who tried their hand at the craft.

Now anyone who can write, produce content and hit a publish button is in the game.

I imagine it was like this after the printing press was invented in 1450; before the invent of movable type, everything had to be written and copied by hand. Suddenly, writing books wasn’t just confined to a select few scribes or monks; anyone could potentially publish. This led to an explosion in books, and other types of publications.

So now we have brands like Intel, the free electron bloggers, the bigger blog powerhouses (Huffington, TechCrunch)  and other hybrids-a crazy mix of new media players, all competing for attention. I’m amazed that some companies are still watching from the sidelines, like deer caught in the headlights.

This doesn’t completely replace traditional media. No one expects Intel or any brand to provide unbiased opinions like a WSJ. But to ignore it is stupid- if Intel and other brands have their way, their voices and impact will grow. Competitors will suffer.

The challenge now, says Duffy, “is to be able to move resources quickly enough to be relevant.”

This isn’t about creating one-shot, message-driven campaigns, and moving on. “It’s about reallocating resources for sustained engagement.”

He also realizes his forums are just one channel for discussions, and that Intel has to be nimble enough to engage across the blogosphere.

Back to the journalist issue: It’s clear the lines are blurring between traditional media and leading bloggers, as Jason Falls recently pointed out. Also clear, at least to me, is companies need to hire more writers and editors, and create editorial systems to drive blogger content.

Some social media advocates like Mitch Joel are arguing  for even more–hiring an army of journalists who  just write non-biased industry articles.  The hell with marketing messages and company-spin, just focus on delivering compelling content that will draw in audiences.

So journalism is back in style, sort of. Intel will have to continue mining the Internet for stories and good sources, writing about key issues that keep customers up at night and trying to stay ahead of rapidly-moving trends.

However it pans out, as Duffy is showing, the world has changed; the cheese has moved. Companies better adapt or get left behind.

*NOTE: According to the blog the Intel AppUpSM Developer Program:

• Provides developers with everything they need to create and then sell their applications to users of millions of Intel® Atom processor-based devices.
• Gives developers, OEMs, and the ecosystem a framework to deliver great new applications directly to consumers.
• The Program provides software development support, application validation, and a worldwide distribution channel for applications and application components

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