How do you define “news?” What’s newsworthy … what’s not? For example, why does a Twitter outage become the lead story on CNN.com; yet Gmail goes down, and it’s barely a blip on mainstream media’s radar? I know Twitter is the exciting, intriguing new service, but is a “fail whale” more newsworthy that the outage […]
Author Archive | Heather Whaling
Carefully Crafted on September 01
Carefully Crafted on August 31
Be a Good Neighbor
One of the prevailing cultural norms guiding the social media ecosystem, the idea of being a good social media neighbor encompasses the notions of promoting others … sharing valuable content … providing answers and resources. A simple way to do this? Sharing links, whether that’s tweeting to a blog post or linking to articles and […]
Carefully Crafted on August 27
Kennedy Family Mourns, Tweets
This is remarkable: The family of the late Sen. Ted Kennedy has created a Twitter account to provide updates about the public viewing, memorial service, funeral and other bits of information to honor the “Lion of the Senate.” See www.twitter.com/kennedynews. (Note: This is in addition to the impressive website with information about funeral arrangements and […]
Carefully Crafted on August 24
PR Gets Local
http://thelostjacket.com/marketing/1995-great-year-social-media
Carefully Crafted on August 18
More on SocMed for Nonprofits
I had the opportunity to speak again about social media for nonprofits — this time to a smart group of PR folks at the Florida Public Relations Association’s Nonprofit Roundtable discussion. I co-presented with Shari Orr from the Central Florida Coalition for the Homeless. Our presentation is very similar to the one I shared last […]
Carefully Crafted on August 17
Join the Social Media Party
Ever heard the analogy comparing Twitter to a big cocktail party? The idea is simple: People are mixing and mingling … chatting … getting to know each other … networking. Just like at a cocktail party, Twitter users try to be interesting, relevant, humorous, engaging. If you’re a business or nonprofit trying to navigate social […]
Carefully Crafted on August 15
Social Media Levels the Playing Field
Last week, I had the opportunity to present at the Central Florida Nonprofit Expo to a very attentive group of executive and development directors representing a rage organizations. Instead of focusing on the specific tools, I chose to focus on the strategy. It’s important for nonprofits to understand the strategy behind social media before diving […]
Carefully Crafted on August 14
Communicating "Eagles Sign Vick"
Thankfully, it’s football season again. Yesterday, news broke that Vick was about to join the Eagles. By signing Vick on Tuesday and waiting until Friday to make the announcement, the Eagles took a huge PR risk. It’s a lesson in crisis communication.
Carefully Crafted on August 11
Social Media for Nonprofits
Social media and nonprofits are a perfect match, which explains why so many organizations are testing the Web 2.0 waters. From national organizations, like the American Red Cross, to our very own Central Florida Coalition for the Homeless — nonprofits are discovering value in this interactive way of communicating with current and potential donors, volunteers […]
Carefully Crafted on August 04
HARO Call: Recapping Broman-isms
Today’s HARO conference call — coupling the brilliant Peter Shankman with Chris Brogan — was amazing. You know how sometimes you listen to conference calls and it’s just talking heads droning on? Not this one! Instead, it was like we were eavesdropping on two friends chatting about social media. Well, except for the fact that […]