January 25th, 2007

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About This Site, PR and Marketing
6 Comments »

Listen to Me On the BBC World Service

This morning, some time between 10:30 and 11:00am PST, I’ll be on the BBC’s Have Your Say, talking about this whole Get a First Life business. You can apparently listen via this link.

I always feel slightly guilty when I do media stuff where I’m not the most qualified expert for a given topic. The show has some Second Life advocates appearing, so it’s no big deal. Still, it highlights a truth of the media and public relations: the guy you see on TV or hear on the radio isn’t, by virtue of their presence, the most qualified expert. He was the one they could find and the one they could get.

So what’s today’s marketing lesson, class? Make sure you’re visible in your industry, and ensure you’re available whenever the media calls. This latter point is something we emphasize to every new client. It’s not often an issue, but they need to drop everything and pay attention to a journalist comes a-calling.

Comments: 6 Responses so far

heather
January 25th, 2007
12:09 pm

stupid crappy cellphone….

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darren
January 25th, 2007
12:15 pm

Heh, yeah, they told me it sounded kind of shite. Ah well, that’s international telecommunications for ya.

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Beth
January 25th, 2007
12:16 pm

When I read “what’s today’s lesson?”, my assumption was that the lesson would be “Don’t believe something just because someone on TV or the radio says so. They aren’t necessarily the most qualified expert! Do your own research! Be critical of the source!” (apparently my brain skipped over the word “marketing”). Of course, I’m a scientist and that’s what I try to teach my students.

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darren
January 25th, 2007
12:19 pm

Beth: Heck, yes, but I make that point fairly regularly, so I figured I’d go down the marketing route this time. And I guess I thought it was implied, in ‘who they could find and who they can could get’.

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leigh
January 26th, 2007
3:07 am

I got here somehow from the CBC.ca “Science & Tech” news site by following a link to Get a First Life.

Then I tried to follow that link to the BBC interview, but after several minutes of wasted time, received this message,

“Service not available.
Unfortunately a server error occured whilst trying to retrieve this page:
(long internet address here) We are currently working to correct this” blah, blah, blah.

This type of thing seems to me to be happening entirely too often in my First Life to be coincidental. I am beginning to think that Jesus Hates Me. An opinion I probably would have developed earlier in life if I hadn’t been brainwashed while I was a kid by my Catholic mother and aunts and several priests and nuns. They all kept telling me that, “Jesus/God loves you” and I believed them.
Whatever, that’s irrelevant to here & now.

I have previously heard of Second Life, probably on the CBC, and though I had no inclination to visit the site, had formed a vague and uncomplimentary opinion about the types of people who would utilize it. Subsequently, I have learned a little more about Second Life and heard an interview of one of its denizens. My opinion has not improved.

A “second life”?…on the internet???

For JEEZ’s sake, what is wrong with this picure? Or what is NOT wrong with this picture?

Your first life is so boring or unsatisfactory that you have to have another FAKE life via your computer? This is going to somehow improve your REAL Life?

The longer I live the crazier (or more weird) people seem to be getting.

Maybe it’s just me.

Anyway, after visiting Get A First Life, but having not actually heard or read your opinion of Second Life, I’m inclined to think that we share basically the same ideas about Second Life.

Or maybe not. No offense. You and I could be a couple of those ‘great minds’ that think alike. Ha.

I guess I’ll have to browse through some of your blogs to sample your opinions on other matters.

later,

Leigh

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Andrew Ferguson
January 26th, 2007
1:25 pm

Heh, I learned that lesson with regards to dealing with the media earlier this summer when I was helping CBC put together a story on the 2006 Zombiewalk.

http://www.goldengod.net/2006/09/07/vancouver-zombiewalk-2006-cbc-footage/

I was visible in the space, and when I was called I dropped pretty much everything to get them my photos, be available for an interview, and obtain video footage from a videographer I knew.

All that work and I got classified as a ‘witness’ instead of ‘photographer’, as I was told. Boo-urns. :P

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