Anyone that thinks that is the case need look no further than the U.S. automakers appeal for close to a $35 billion bailout. As this CNN article suggests, public opinion is now significantly against the government bailout. Before the auto executives showed up on Capitol Hill in their highly-publicized corporate jets, public opinion was 50/50.

This PR faux pas could end up costing them close to $35 billion.

Before starting The Content Factor, I spent 15 years in public relations. The old pros have a saying: "Not only must it be right, it should 'appear' right."

I participated in a breakfast seminar today with five other organizations. The event was put together by PR firm Trevelino/Keller and revolved around a unique Monopoly-like game board designed as an interesting way to put together an online social media program for businesses and other organizations. As you move around the board you are prompted to consider options ranging from Facebook and mySpace to Twitter and Digg.

Present company excluded, there were a lot of smart people on the panel, including folks from Search Discovery, Vitrue, Luckyfish and (my favorite) dNeero.

Using the board, we actually built a social media strategy for Zoo Atlanta. It was pretty cool. The question and answer session may have been the best part, as the panel answered a lot of very practical questions ranging from when to use Facebook pages vs. Facebook groups and how to reach Twitter Moms.

The Content Factor's contribution to the Zoo Atlanta campaign: Winston the Warthog. But that's probably another post.

When I was a business reporter, a mind-boggling frustration of mine--and every journalist for that matter--was that I had to spend countless hours deciphering the most obtuse corporate speak imaginable. Here these companies were pitching why they should be written about and I couldn't even understand what they did in the most basic sense.

Just take a look on PR Newswire and you'll be inundated with bad messaging. We're "the leading on-demand revenue performance management solutions company..." Actually, they make software that helps companies make financial forecasts. Or try this one, taken from an "About Us" section: ____ "enables unprecedented performance and design benefits with efficient, flexible, easy-to-use digital power IC solutions based on the patented Digital-DC..." I'm not even going to venture a guess; I left my acronym dictionary at home.

Which is why we've developed The Super-Fantastic Corporation Confusion Game. It challenges you to figure out what companies really do based on their own messaging. The companies in the quiz span the spectrum from technology to professional services. Some of them you'll know quite well. Just a word of caution, though: You may want to have an aspirin handy.

Just say what you do already. There's no reason for jargon, ambiguity or corporate speak. And there's certainly no reason for bad writing.

We hope you enjoy the game!

Labels: bad marketing, confusing corporate writing

You can have the best technology in the world behind your online social community. But to keep users coming back -- and back again regularly -- engaging content is mandatory.

That's why we're proud to announce a partnership with one of the leading social network developers in the country, Neighborhood America. The company has created many popular Web 2.0 sites including HGTV's Rate My Space and FOX News' uReport.

Check out the release that went out on the wire today!

Labels: neighborhood america, social communities, social network content

If you're interested in an easy read on the value of white papers and a few tips on how to create good ones, then check out this short article I wrote for The NY Enterprise Report--a business magazine catering to small businesses.

BusinessWeek recently ran this story about the Orange County Register outsourcing some content duties to India. This shouldn’t come as a surprise. Good content will be increasingly in demand. Consumers and businesses want and need it, yet many will insist on paying the absolute lowest price.

For now, the OC Register seems to be outsourcing mostly the “mechanical” copy functions, such as editing and proofing. Yet it may only be a short time before offshore firms figure out a way to deliver acceptable original content creation. In fact, we’ve had several clients explore this. While none have been fully satisfied, I suspect it is only a matter of time until an acceptable offering is developed.

The challenge for offshore companies when it comes to original content creation is not physical proximity. Good content can be created from anywhere; it is contextual proximity and having a shared mindset with the reader. That’s a whole different story--as anyone who has called a customer service desk staffed with offshore personnel can attest to.

Congress is debating the merits right now to raise the H1-B visa cap -- a move that would bring in more highly-skilled foreigners to take positions primarily in the tech industry.

Bill Gates and many other technology leaders have argued for years that the American high-tech workforce is not adequate to fulfill demand. However, one of my clients, Rudolf Melik, CEO of project management software firm Tenrox, blogs that that claim is overstated.

While some skill sets are hard to find here, he argues, the high demand for more visa workers is mostly about cheap labor. He gives some interesting fixes to the problem at:

http://www.talentontarget.com/