The Blogger - Tomorrow's Don Shelby?

Personality is an important thing when it comes to catching someone's attention. Make them laugh or cry, scared, awestruck or just generally impressed, a person with personality is usually able to command another person's attention better than someone lacking charisma. So it stands to reason that one quality you'd find in a journalist is a good, approachable personality.

For decades in TV news, that personality belonged to an anchor. If you look at the golden years of local news in Minnesota circa the '80's, you'd find KARE-11's Paul Magers duking it out with the about-to-depart Don Shelby from WCCO - both great news guys who knew how to command a viewer's attention with that oh-so-cool balance of stern sincerity that was broken occasionally, and always at just the right moment, with a little down-home humor. That was the media world of yesteryear.

In today's media world, it's not enough for a reporter to be polished. Today, there has to be a genuine connection between that reporter and his or her audience. There has to be give and take. Reporters have to listen to feedback (good and bad) and react to it appropriately. They have to write an occasional blog post that offers more to a story - or perhaps why they chose to tell a story in a certain way. They have to use all the new media tools available and facilitate on-going conversations with news consumers. Last but not least, they have to use that new media to show viewers, listeners and readers their personality. Reporters have to connect with news consumers and show them why they should be trusted with getting the facts right and giving them sound information to base decisions upon.

So is the blogger the new anchor? Maybe. More likely though, is that a good blog is just a solid tool in the arsenal of the modern reporter. A way to not only add to and clarify a story, but also an opportunity to add a little aweshuckedness and levity to what is (and should be) a serious topic - good journalism.

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Want some examples? It's not all about personality alone. Check out this story from Mashable for examples of how a few journalists have used Twitter and Facebook to advance the quality and timeliness of their work.

Tough Times Disappear at Target Field

On a recent Saturday night, my wife and I enjoyed a nice dinner with my parents, headed home and starting kicking around a few ideas for how we'd spend the next five or six beautiful hours of freedom that only a Saturday night can offer. After crossing a few things off the list and realizing there would probably be some easy-to-get, inexpensive tickets to the Twins v. Orioles game at Target Field, (rain postponed the game from the night before) we decided to jump on the train and head out to the ballpark.

For $10 a piece, we got seats worth $12 (not huge, but it's always fun to get a deal, right?). From there, we grabbed a couple beers and headed to our seats which were tucked neatly into the right field corner. Like so many spaces in this beautiful park, these seats were dripping with character - bleachers that offered a nice view of the action in a party-like atmosphere.

We arrived late, but the game was a good one (1-0 Twins in the top of the 4th inning). The temperature was not what most people would consider baseball weather with a game time reading of about 45 degrees, but the sky was clear, the grass was green and the gloves kept our fingers protected from the icy cold emanating from the beer cups in our hands.

About an inning into our night, my wife got a text from her brother saying he was just a few sections over. We grabbed our beer and headed to their section, watching the game the entire time thanks to Target Field's open concourses that offer numerous sweeping views of the action. As we walked, met up with and talked to my brother in law, we couldn't help but notice some of the other things that make this park so sweet.

There are the countless meeting areas where you can chat with friends and still catch a big play with a quick glance every time the crowd erupts. There are the outfield seats that seem impossibly close to the action (seriously, it feels like you're sitting on Cuddyer's shoulders in the right field sections). There's the State Fair food on a stick in the concession area behind those seats. There are the sections of stadium that were actually built over existing freeways - something that isn't noticeable from inside the stadium, but is surprisingly apparent when you walk around it. The undercover roadways are the result of trying to squeeze a major league ballpark into a tiny, 8-acre parking lot. When the plans for this park were being drawn up, architects and organizers were criticized for trying to squish a stadium into such a small space. Now that it's open, the limitations caused by the size of the land seem to be more benefit than detriment. Because of the lack of space, architects were forced to get creative and the end result is one of the warmest, coziest, most unique environments I've experienced in pro or college sports (that includes more than a dozen arenas, stadiums and ballparks).

And then there's the view.

Yes, this view that gave us an incredible rainbow after a short, early May rain shower.

All the bells and whistles are what you'd expect with a new ballpark - the character and coziness is beyond what you'd expect - but that's not what makes the Twins' new home so special. With everything that's gone wrong with the world lately, Target Field is a place where we can all take a break from reality and focus on something that we got right.

A lot of us have lost or are losing jobs; we've been fighting viciously over things like health care and none of us trust the leaders we've elected to clear up those debates; we've seen businesses leave or collapse and well-known business leaders crumble into piles of corruption; we're tired of being at war and being perpetually reminded of terrorism - but for a few hours at the ballpark on a Saturday night, we can forget about those things and sit back with awe-struck smiles on our faces as we take in Minnesota's new meeting place. A ballpark to watch our constantly-overachieving, small-market baseball team play ball against the beautiful backdrop of the downtown Minneapolis night sky.

Target Field wasn't free. As a Hennepin county resident, I pay the sales tax increase nearly every day. But it's hard to quantify and put a price on the feeling of community generated by the new ballpark. At a time when we need it the most, Target Field makes us feel good, if only for a few hours at a time. To me, that makes every penny spent well worth it.

Gluten is Good (for Lawns)

Just about the same time we're starting to figure out that gluten might not be good for our guts, many of us are learning that it is a wonderful food for our lawns.

Corn Gluten Meal is an all-natural alternative to the petrochemicals that homeowners have been dumping on their lawns for decades in the hopes that they'll have the greenest, most perfect-looking patch of grass on the block. But there are serious side effects to that lush, green, weedless look. One, is the contamination of our fresh water ways. Two, is the threat that those weed killers and fertilizers are slowly killing us by giving us cancer - especially if you're a dog, according to this article.

So to keep Tupper (our dog) and everyone else who plays on our yard safe, I've officially transitioned to an organic lawn using only corn gluten meal for weed control and fertilizer. And here are the results...



Perfect? No, there are a few dandelions, but overall the grass coverage is thick and soft. I don't have to worry about getting sick from rolling around in my own back yard and I can't be blamed for toxic algae buildup on area lakes. After three years of use, my lawn is officially hooked on corn gluten meal.

Occupation or Inspiration?

If you follow social media, then you're probably used to reading all those peppy, motivational quotes reassuring us that "failure is only a step toward success" and that if we truly "follow our dreams, success is the only option." (They remind me of a cross between a hard-core hippie and that "case-of-the-Mondays" woman from Office Space) Cheesy as they may be, some people not only live by those fortune cookiesque tidbits, but do quite well for themselves, too.

The following companies are run by people who may not be tweeting those ooey-gooey bits of overjoy, but they are living them. And I'd wager most of them would refer to their work as more of an inspiration than an occupation...

Regreet works by using labels and mailing supplies that make it "easy and chic for you to reuse greeting cards," according to Regreet's website. And how awesome is that? Let's see, they 1. protect the environment by using less paper and producing less waste from discarded greeting cards, 2. provide a tracking system that lets you follow your greeting card everywhere it goes (assuming other recipients also enter their info) and 3. give well wishers a more affordable option than plopping down $5 on a tiny piece of cardboard at Walgreen's everytime a birthday or anniversary pops up. Creative, fun and helpful.

Element Six Media is one of the most fascinating companies I've seen. By reshaping snow, sand, flora and water, Element Six creates advertising displays using only the stuff you'd find in your grandma's garden. (Talk about sustainable) It's beautiful stuff and something I could see taking off should they convince some larger cities (doesn't this just absolutely belong in San Francisco?) to sign long-term contracts for their service.

So those are a couple quick examples of companies where I'd guess the employees never utter the word "work." Can you think of any others? I'd love to know...

Foursquare Code of Ethics

So what's fair when it comes to Foursquare? Should there be an unwritten rule that says you have to actually be at a location to check in? Not check in shortly before or just after leaving even if you're close enough for Foursquare to think you're still at that location?

To be fair, I'm guilty of checking in at certain locations from my home, because they're only a handful of blocks away. For example, I'm currently locked in an epic battle with @xMikemx for the mayorship of Minnehaha Park. We've gone back and forth as mayor of the park over the past few weeks, often checking in multiple times daily. Now, I do walk or bike through that park on a near daily basis, sometimes more than once a day. The problem is, I don't always remember to check in while I'm there. Thankfully, my home's proximity to the park allows me to check in at the park while my feet are resting on the ottoman with my dog Tupper sitting comfortably on my lap. I'm not lying. I was in the park ...just not right at that very moment.

So the question is, does this fit under the Foursquare code of ethics? Is it about telling people where you just were or where you are? Should you be letting people know where to find you or just updating them on where you've been or where you're going? Am I thinking WAY too much about this and should I find better things to do with my time? I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Being Good is Good Business (Thanks to Social Media)

There is an inherit danger with social media.

Platforms and tools like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube all bring with it one thing that PR pros of old didn't have to leverage; automatic and immediate transparency. Yep, we can officially (and I think quite happily) throw that old phrase "spin doctor" out with yesterday's trash, because in today's world, spin often gets unspun pretty quickly in the self-policing world of social media where everybody, everywhere is a journalist.

So what does that mean for us PR pros? It means working with clients who bring integrity to the table on a daily basis. For example, at StoryTeller (the PR shop where I call home) we have MindWare Toys. MindWare is "the nation’s best resource for toys that engage and entertain." With a focus on creating and selling children's toys that don't just entertain but teach, MindWare's mission is more than just making money ...they're also focused on making the world a better place.

Another client, Helping Paws, is a non-profit that trains service dogs to help those with physical disabilities. Yet another, the Minnesota Section PGA has a goal of growing the game of golf and will soon be offering tips and tricks to anyone who's interested via their YouTube channel in the near future (stay tuned).

All are great organizations that simply don't have a need for old PR tricks of deceit and slight of hand.

So beware all you organizations out there that have a lot to hide, social media is ready to make life very difficult for you. Thankfully, I get to work with a lot of clients who don't have that concern.

Social Media Backlash? Or are we Just Getting Smarter?

Remember when you first started tweeting? And how much fun it was talking with other like-minded social media users about the “power of social media?” There was this sense that a new communication technique was here to change the world for the better and that we were all so smart to be a part of it. You know, those of us who “got it” with regards to using Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, blogs, etc?

Now we’re starting to hear a different story. It’s a story of a social media backlash where users are beginning to drop off the radar. (For more on this perceived backlash, check out this post from AgencyBabylon) So that begs the question, is this the beginning of social media’s end?

That’s hard to imagine, considering that in many ways, social media has already changed the world. From the elections in Iran to Ashton Kutcher battling CNN for followers to the first thing you do in the office every morning, the world is probably a different place thanks to the new world of communication ideology (that being a world where you talk with the people who matter to you, not at them). But let’s face it, the social media love fest is over. Everyone knows about social media, nearly everyone has a profile on at least one of the platforms, plenty of people have made mistakes, others have had success …so the novelty is over. We don’t need to spend our time evangelizing about the benefits of social media anymore. Don’t get me wrong, I still love using Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, YouTube and others …I’m just a little tired of talking about how much I love it (which I think is the backlash Mr. AgencyBabylon is referring to in his post).

So now comes social media 2.0; using the new interactive communication ideology affectively to achieve whatever it is you’re trying to achieve. Which means integrating that ideology into all your communication plans. In the past, it was enough to simply be on Twitter or to post something to YouTube ...just make sure you’re out there, because “it’s better than not being out there” was the driving force behind a lot of social and interactive media plans.

We’re past that now. Now is the time to start putting specific plans in place with clear objectives and desired results. Then executing those plans to increase sales, raise awareness, build networks or what ever else it is you’ve been trying to achieve since you started trying to achieve things (long before social media came around). That, in my opinion, is far more exciting than sitting around and tweeting about how much we all love social media.

So is there a social media backlash? I don't think so. We're all just getting a little wiser about how to make the most out of something we love so much.