PR pros need to understand, develop strategies, and help clients execute on a variety of social media platforms. Twitter is only one. I know there are still many companies and agencies that don’t get it. Maybe Cherp can help them.

So Let’s translate “why don’t you do some work” into what it really is: “How come your job lets you fly all over the place, and have meetings in really cool places, and why can’t mine? Your job certainly doesn’t seem like work, why does mine?”

The truth hurts!

I wish Peter wrote long blog posts like this more frequently. His writing is fantastic — honest without being accusatory, optimistic but also realistic, intelligent but in no way pedantic. I’d enjoy reading his thoughts on other “horizontal” issues, as we say in the biz. Guess I’ll have to wait for his next book.

This post also reminded me of another openly ADHD entrepreneur, Katey Nicosia from One Good Bumblebee, an online retailer. She also has a great blog post describing how she was able to turn her diagnosis into a positive, for herself and her business.

Peter and Katey, you guys should meet! And, on a side note, if you’re of the crafty persuasion, I highly recommend One Good Bumblebee’s Jar of Whimsies.

Dell’s simple request: Post your ideas and tell us what products and services you like, what you don’t like.

There are four tabs: “Post…your ideas for new products and services”, “Promote…interesting ideas you want to see”, “Discuss… with Dell” and “See…what Dell is planning to develop”.

Within weeks, people started posting ideas that you could comment on and “promote” or “demote” to gain recognition. To date, the site has around 76,000 comments and around 10,000 ideas.

By being asked to voice their opinions and participate in forums and programs like these, customers feel good, valued and important. This leads to customer loyalty, great and effective word-of-mouth marketing, which in turn, positively impacts the bottom line of any business. Watch jebBlue and Dell take off again.

It’s a win-win.

A couple of weeks ago, I got an invitation from jetBlue to participate in a “kick the tires” day at JFK Terminal 5. If you’ve flown out of JFK, you have probably seen the mysterious, Eero Saarinen-designed Terminal 5 peeking at you from your seat on the Air Train. It’s been out of use since TWA went out of business in the mid-90s and sitting there, empty, since.

jetBlue purchased Terminal 5 a few years ago, spiffed it up, and built a new terminal directly behind it. And this Saturday at 9am, I’ll be one of a few hundred (thousand?) people pretending to fly somewhere to make sure all the kinks are worked out before the official opening. YEAH!

I can’t describe how psyched I am to participate — as an airline and design buff, a jetBlue lover, and also as a PR pro. I haven’t seen jetBlue make any noise from a PR perspective about this tryout day, though I’m sure they’re doing it because they’re eager to avoid the catastrophe that British Airways Terminal 5 experienced on its opening day at Heathrow. (Note that BA also held a tryout day.)

I’ll give you an update next week on how the day went. My shift starts at 9am. Parking is free, and barbecue will be served for lunch. Now, the important question: should I attend “in character?” I wonder where my fake ticket says I’m headed.

Related Links
Vintage photos of T5 in service
TWA in PBS documentary Chasing the Sun
Gothamist: Saarinen’s TWA Terminal to Reopen?

A great article in USA TODAY covers the arena and the players well:

McDonald’s spent zero on digital marketing at the 04 Games, this year 10% of its Olympic budget went to new media. Kleenex: 30%. Coke: 50%. And Speedo: 100% of its budget went to online social media channels this Olympics.
Nike, Lenovo, GE, Bank of America and Johnson & Johnson are all on board with their initiatives as well. Incredible.

Get this: Millions of Americans will watch the Olympics but never turn on a TV set. The Beijing Games is the first Olympics ever where up to 5% of the viewers will watch their Olympic coverage via personal computers or mobile phones.
I think probably even more…

We can see the advertising game plan is changing. Budgets have shifted tremendously from traditional advertising media to digital online outreach that impacts and engages the hip, trendsetting and very important 18-26 age group. From Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, blogging to mobile phones, all the “social networking” avenues are being covered. Millions of people are being touched and drawn in with online games, videos, blogging and mobile pushes. And getting the Olympic players involved has been key to making it so much more touchy and feely, giving this the adrenaline rush it needs to make it spiral and viral.

This is exciting. And its the tip of the iceberg for advertising to come…

PR Idea Book: 50 Proven Tools that Really Work Written By: Jeff Winke, Reviewed By: Walter, Media Relations Specialist

About Walter: Walter serves as a Media Relations Specialist at Affect Strategies. Prior to his working at Affect Walter held the Media Relations Coordinator position at Multivu, a division of PR Newswire that specializes in broadcast public relations.Prior to MultiVu, Walter served as Associate Director of Audio Services for Medialink Worldwide, a global leader in broadcast and broadband marketing.

About the Jeff Winke: Jeff Winke is a PR counselor, magazine editor and adjunct university professor living in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Throughout his career Mr. Winke has provided consulting services for clients spanning from the U.S. to Eastern Europe. Besides his highly acclaimed book, PR Idea Book: 50 Proven Tools that Really Work, Jeff is internationally recognized for his award winning book of haiku poems, What’s Not There.

BUZZMARKETING: Get people to talk about your stuff Written By: Mark Hughes, Reviewed By: Sandra, President

About Sandra: Sandra is the President and founder of Affect Strategies. She has more than 15 years of experience in PR and marketing for technology firms. Prior to founding Affect Strategies, Sandra held various positions at RADVISION, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, Nokia and VCON.

About Mark Hughes: Mark Hughes is best known for, what Time Magazine called “one of the greatest publicity coups” in history, introducing e-Bay to Half.com and selling it for $300 million. His marketing career has included work with top players such as Pizza Hut, eBay and AMSC (XM Satellite Radio). As the son of a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, Hughes’ book, BUZZMARKETING: Get people to talk about your stuff, has received praises from such individuals as the former editor of the Wall Street Journal and the former Chief Marketing Officer of Pepsi-Cola.

Marketing to the Social Web Written By: Larry Webber, Reviewed By: Regina, Senior Account Executive

About Regina: Regina is a senior account executive at Affect Strategies. Prior to joining Affect Strategies, Regina served as Director of Marketing and Sales at HopStop.com, a site dedicated to helping people get easy-to-use mass transit directions for major metropolitan areas. Regina also held the role of Marketing Manager at Borders Books and Music.

About Larry Webber: Larry Webber’s passion for combining technology, the internet and communications has set him aside in the industry as an innovator and has lead to his finding two agencies, Thunderhouse and The Weber Group (no owned by The Interpublic Group of Companies). As one of the first interactive marketing agencies, Thunderhouse catered to such prestigious clients as Coca-Cola, Pfizer, IBM and General Mills. Webber went on to find the Weber Group and proceeded to grow the company to be the world’s largest PR firm. After the acquisition by Interpublic, Webber was named chairman and CEO of Interpublics Advanced Marketing Services.

PR on a Budget: 5 Rules of Great PR Written By: Leonard Saffir, Reviewed By: Katie, Marcom Manager

About Katie: Katie holds the position of Marcom Manager at Affect Strategies. Prior to her work at Affect she served as an Assistant Program Manager for the Capital Roundtable, an event production company for the private equity, investment banking, venture capital, legal, hedge fund, and professional advisory communities in New York City. Katie has also worked as an Account Coordinator at KPR and Associates, a pharmaceutical advertising agency in New York City.

About Leonard Saffir: Leonard Saffir has worked in the fields of public relations, marketing and journalism. His public relations background includes a prominent role at Porter Novelli International as executive vice president. Saffir has written three books, one of which has been chosen by the American Marketing Association as a featured selection. This book, Power Public Relations: How to Master the New PR was published by McGraw-Hill and is used as required reading at several colleges and universities.

The New PR: An Insiders Guide to Changing the Face of Public Relations Written By: Phil Hall, Reviewed By: David, Senior Account Executive

About David: David is a Senior Account Executive at Affect Strategies. He previously served as Director of Public Relations at Coldwell Banker Hunt Kennedy in New York and the College Football Hall of Fame. In addition to his director positions, he has additional public relations experience with the Indianapolis Colts and Purdue University’s football team.

About Phil Hall: Phil Hall is a key figure in the world of communications. As the editor of PR News, Hall is not only regarded as an innovator in the PR world but has also helped many small businesses sustain key media coverage during his tenure as the president of Open City Communications. With over 20 years of experience Hall has earned such prestigious awards as the Silver Anvil Award from the Public Relations Society of America.

The Perfect Pitch: The Art of Selling Ideas and Winning New Business Written By: Jon Steel, Reviewed By: Leslie, Vice President

About Leslie: Leslie is the vice president of Affect Strategies. Leslie began her career in the corporate marketing department of 24/7 Media, a global advertising network and media technology provider (now part of WPP Group). Prior to joining Affect Strategies, Leslie worked as a freelance Interactive Producer, developing online and downloadable games for several Nickelodeon and Cartoon Network properties. She also served as a Content Manager at Bolt, the Web’s first social networking site for teens.

About Jon Steel: As the co-creator of the famous “got milk?” advertising campaign, John Steel is currently helping WPP companies develop client business while also assisting with creative and strategic development. As the winner of several awards including eleven gold Effie awards from the AMA received for Advertising Effectiveness and the David Ogilvy Gold Award, Steel is highly regarded as an astute advertising professional.

Cut to this afternoon. I’ve been getting the same annoying message for the past 20 minutes:

I checked, but so far it looks like it’s just me…and everyone else in our office. No incoming or outgoing emails = not good Google Apps PR.

Anyone else experiencing Google Apps (specifically, Gmail) hiccups?

UPDATE (Tuesday AM): Bob in California left a comment noting he had already been down for 4 hours (?!). Google made a formal apology on the Gmail blog. However, I wasn’t able to log into our corporate Google Apps account, either. Did Google downplay the severity of the outage by referring to it strictly as a Gmail problem?

Reasons you should attend:

1. O’Reilly coined the phrase “Web 2.0.” They get it.
2. If you use the code webny08emp157 , you’ll get $100 off your registration. You can also use that code to score a free exhibit hall pass!
3. I’ll be there, and I’d love to meet you.

Leave a comment if you’re planning to attend. I opted for the $350 Expo Hall Plus package ($250 with the discount code), which means I’ll get to hit up the keynotes, expo hall events, and sponsored conference tracks. I’ll also get the all-important conference tote bag.

• MDA Effort Ups Emotional Ante, Adweek, August 4, 2008
• Five Breast Cancer Myths, Fox News, August 3, 2008
• Does Trust Really Matter? PRSA, July 31, 2008
• Westwood One Sues Transmedia Group for $42 Million, Biz Journal, July 28, 2008
• Plurk It, Baby, Marketing Profs, July 18, 2008
• Give Your E-Mail Marketing New Life, BtoB, July 14, 2008