Trackle Application in an Organization

By John Duncan
Trackle is a good tool for companies to not just use but for them to observe. Trackle allows users to follow any material they may find important through different widgets for total customization. Trackle makes it easy to share this knowledge with other people by allowing it to be social media friendly which means we can post the alert itself on any social media outlet (Guy). This makes it easier for marketers to follow and track their customers’ wants and interests and allows the company to interact with the consumer with a more personal intent. Trackle sends news and information which the user finds important. They can choose from: books, classified, crime, events, finance, fun stuff, health, information, jobs, local and movies (Perez). These widgets can be customized even further to get rid of unwanted information. Peoples’ trackles are private but like I stated earlier, sharing is done very easily through the uses of Facebook, Digg, Twitter and other forms of social media (Perez).  All major companies and even smaller companies should look into trying to spread the word of trackle because it is only going to grow and get better. Understanding how it works and how to find your customers’ interests will benefit these companies greatly.

Trackle

By John Duncan
Trackle is a new social media tool that allows users to track any information that may want or need without having to dig through pesky unwanted articles. Trackle is like google alerts in a sense considering that trackle sends the user all the information though email. It is a little more advanced than that though. They have created different widgets which can be added onto your trackle. For instance, trackle offers apps finding when a favorite band and keeping in contact for tour dates and CD releases, news on the latest sports scores and also can track crime rate in your town (Perez). You can also go more in-depth for instance, if you want to just know about burglary and not all forms of crime in your town you can set it just for that. Trackle also is smart because it remembers the information it has already sent you and will never send that piece of information again unless you request it to do so (Perez). This is a tool for companies as well because your trackle topics of interest can be posted on Digg, Facebook, Twitter, etc. which can allow marketers to track their customers interests (Guy). Trackle is completely free with over 100 widgets ranging from health to real estate and everywhere in between (Guy). Trackle constantly updates itself with new material once it comes available so this tool will be beneficial to everyone using it so I would recommend everyone to check into it if they already haven’t.


Search on  trackle.

Blogging

Emily Wilkins
1/31/09
Current Topics
Fisher

Blogging

Another emerging trend in the field of public relations is blogging. Blogging can be important to public relations practitioners as far as delivery of news coverage and information sharing is concerned. The growing technique helps prove how influential the internet has become as a communication medium.
        Blogs are short for weblogs. These are online personal commentary links according to www.educause.edu. They can be viewed as online journals to which people can respond to, such as an e-mail. They are simple to create and easy to access that lead to open discussions. Evaluating blogs’ strengths and weaknesses, guidelines are being set for the workplace. Blogs have become an accepted instructional technology tool and is continuing to be used for various tasks for practitioners.
        Public relations practitioners use blogging as a way of delivering news coverage and information sharing. This way, they can not only reach out to bloggers, but to bloggers in question. This makes communication easier for faculty to express opinions, promote dialogue and support teaching and learning. Many companies in both technical fields such as eBay and Microsoft and nontechnical fields such as General Motors and Wells Fargo Bank now have in-house blogs that report on developments in the company. Some of those developments might include new items posted to the web pages, new cars on the lot, and different banking tools that are being introduced to the company. These blogs can also inform its readers on why these items, cars, programs, and accounts are all going to be beneficial to the customers. For any questions or concerns on behalf of these blogs or postings, customers are given the opportunity to reply to the blogs and ask questions directly.
        Some of the benefits involved with blocks for public relation practitioners include gaining visibility as a thought leader, engaging customers in dialogue, developing your brand, and using each one as an opportunity. By publicizing their news through internet, discussion is opened up to various audiences. With the variety of people exposed to the blogs, it leaves room for people to communicate new ideas and an abundance of feedback. Allowing customers to engage in the dialogue, makes for a better outcome for the company. Using feedback and applying it towards ideas and new techniques. This is an excellent alternative for good customer service. Each blog can be used as an opportunity to reach out to these customers for an idea of what they are looking for in the company. It is a quick and easy-to-use tool to have that provides interaction with potential customers and accommodate to those needs.
        Before creating a blog, practitioners need to remember a few things about what they are going to include in it. First of all, know who the audience is going to be. Plan the material according to the people that are going to be reading along. Secondly, choose what the blog is going to be about. The structure of the blog and the topic chosen is going to determine whether or not the message will get across to its readers. The topic chosen needs to be open-ended and have opportunity for feedback and conversation. Engaging in conversation is crucial in public relations to meet the needs of potential and current customers. Then, find what will be needed to do to exceed those expectations and accommodate accordingly. The public are what make public relations so it is most appropriate to find these new techniques that will help run a better system.
These aspects all contribute to the emerging trends in public relations. Practitioners are used to the consistent changes in the workforce, especially with technology. Technology faces regular changes and it is up to fields, such as public relations, to be prepared and learn new ways.

Cisco Eos: The Media & Entertainment World's Social Media

By Madison Chambers

Cisco Eos is an Internet hosted software platform that allows for media and entertainment companies to create online communities.  The websites are easily created and allows fans to easily interact with their favorite musicians, actors, or anything else that a media or entertainment company would want to promote (Reardon 2009). Warner Music Group is an example of a company that uses Cisco Eos. WMG uses this form of social media to promote bands such as Paramore and Halestorm, and singers like Trey Songz and Sean Paul. These artists use Cisco Eos to provide a customized social interactive cite that provides their fans with a great experience (Werner Music Company and Cisco, 2009).

This type of social media gives consumers of the media and entertainment world a chance to actively interact with their favorite musician or actor. Cisco Eos also allows for the public to view their news from the source of their favorite types of entertainment. According to Jim Brady, member of the Cisco Newsroom, thirty-six percent of the public goes straight to the source concerning entertainment news directly from their favored type of media (Brady 2009). Cisco Eos also is trying to knockdown the rates of piracy. By allowing fans to interact with their favorite musician, actor, etc., there could possibly be a decrease in piracy since the music or video is practically given to them (Reardon 2009).

Cisco Eos is a great way for media and entertainment companies to socialize with their publics. By being able to socially interact with one another, the message can be received better and more and more people will use Cisco Eos to get their news and updates on their favorite celebrities. 

Since this is a fairly new type of social media, reviews were difficult to find. However, from the readings of the articles written about Cisco Eos, I have gathered that it is a great innovation that has been influenced by PR 2.0 and is trying to getting everyone involved: both professionals and the public.

Works Cited

Brady, J. (2009, January 7). Cisco Eos Platform Delivers Online Social Experience for Consumers,

Powerful Web 2.0 Platform for Media & Entertainment Companies. Retrieved from

 http://newsroom.cisco.com/dlls/2009/prod_010709b.html

Reardon, M. (2009, January 6). Cisco adds social networking to its forte [Newsgroup message].
     Retrieved from http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10133792-93.html

n.a. (2009, August 12). Warner Music Group & Cisco Announce Strategic Agreement to Deliver Social
     Entertainment Experiences to Online Audiences [Newsgroup message]. Retrieved from
     http://www.wmg.com/newsdetails/id/8a0af81222e46eb901230f17b92d17c0

Monica Peterson-Social Media Assignment

The social media that I chose was the website Hi5 (www.hi5.com). Attached is my paper.

 

-Monica Peterson

Flickr

Kat Donovan

www.flickr.com

Social media takes many forms for many different uses.  There are many social media that contain photo usage, but there are also social media that focus only on photo publishing. Flickr is a program that allows users to post their photos with descriptions, join groups, enables other individuals to comment on others’ photos, and allows users to “follow” other users to keep up with their latest work.  Flickr also allows users to post their photos from Flickr to other blogs, such as Twitter and personal blogs. Users can send photos directly from their phone to Flickr.

One organization that uses Flickr is NASA. NASA has an account on Flickr that I have subscribed to follow. NASA’s profile information contains a section about their photos that are posted and how they are available to the public and news organizations. NASA gives permission on their profile for the photos to be used, with due credit. The photos cannot be used in any way that suggest NASA gives approval or endorsement for another product. They have posted photos since February of 2009, and have photos taken as early as 2004 posted to their account.

There could be many benefits of companies and organizations using Flickr. Flickr provides a way to post photos that is credible, reputable and, most importantly, instant. Photos that need to be made public can be uploaded to Flickr and obtained by the public and the media extremely quick.  The photos can be reused and posted in a way that is easy and dependable.

Podcasts as an Excelling Form of Social Media by Laura Yeager

Podcasts have proven to be an emerging trend in the public relations industry. The public relations industry is constantly changing and adapting to keep up with technology and the public. Podcasting consists of recording a digital file that can be distributed over the net using syndication feeds to be able to be played over the computer, MP3, or via IPod ( Faulhaber). Especially when related to public relations, the importance of podcasts is to reach an audience. When it comes to public relations and reaching a specific target audience, the more people that are introduced to the product or service the more successful that product or service is. PodGarden, an innovator of online marketing, states that it is projected that by 2013, 37.6 million people will be downloading podcasts each month (Podcast Importance.) This proves that podcasts are an outlet that if used correctly, can reach the masses.

Those who receive a podcasts are called subscribers and the podcast receiver is the technology that allows the subscriber to receive the podcast content. The receiver produces technology that has a way of narrowing down the subscribers specific podcast interests. This allows podcasts to be targeted by individual interest.

Podcast websites have even targeted the public relations profession, to provide a tool to the individuals in the public relations industry. Podcast websites such as PRWebPodcast provides an aid for public relations professionals by featuring interviews about press releases, producing the ability to bring news releases to life, and once again connect with the public.  

           Eric Schwartzman, founder and chairman of public relations services provider, iPressroom, states that “Public Relations podcasting initiatives can whisper in the ear of an influential, outspoken audience of brand ambassadors and compelling listeners to serve as word-of-mouth agents, repeating what they hear to friends and family” (Schwartzman.) Podcasts can be an extremely valid public relations tool for organizations. Podcasts provide a way for companies and organizations to develop and emotional bond with their customers (101publicrelations.)

 Podcasts can give companies more of a personality and hence make the company and the services it provides more relatable to the customer. Multiple companies including BMW and General Motors have podcasts linked to their company website to create more of an integrated relationship with their customers. The messages these companies send out via podcasts include messages for the CEO, new product launches, service use information, and technology briefs (Faulhaber.)

Apart from providing public relations for products and services, as well as being able to appeal to specific audiences, podcasting can also produce a public relations campaign for individuals. California Governor Arnold Swarzenegger used podcasts to package and distribute political speeches (Fernado.)

Communication is the core of public relations. A global study by Universal McCann found that the number of podcast listeners in the United States has doubled in the last year and a half (Schwartzman). With its availability on the internet, podcasts can be reached throughout the global marketplace and can provide a public relations tool for a variety of different outlets. Podcasts are one of the latest communication tools used by all generations and most target groups, and will continue to be a successful public relations practice.

 

Faulhaber, P. (2008). Podcasts and public relations. Suite 101, Retrieved from http://marketingpr.suite101.com/article.cfm/podcasting_perfect_tool_for_public_relations

Fernado, A. (2005). Podcasting, anyone?. Communication World, 22. Retrieved from http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=3&hid=112&sid=98683033-0c5c-4fb6-88e5-d9d7f1c35465%40sessionmgr111&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d

(n.d.). Podcast importance. Retrieved from http://podgarden.oneupweb.com/podcast_importance.htm

Shwartzman, E. (2008). Study suggests corporate podcasting is a growth opportunity for communicators. Comprehnsion, Retrieved from http://comprehension.prsa.org/?p=141

(n.d.). The Value of podcasting. 101 Public Relations, Retrieved from http://101publicrelations.com/blog/the_value_of_podcasting_001792.html