Anyway, the reason I’m talking about this is because it’s probably going to affect what I do here. Not it a bad way — I’m not being censored for the sake of corporate politics or anything like that. It’s just that:

A) I’ve been busy as I work to get my legs under me at the new gig and

B) I’m excited about doing some writing for the agency’s own blog, which has some serious thematic overlap, if you will, with Unjournalism.

I have no intention of stopping writing here at Unjournalism — or anywhere else I write, for that matter. I do, however, have to put some good brain power into determining how I can best accommodate all of my online homes without too much overlap but still keeping each relevant and interesting.

In the meantime, there’s not a creature or employer alive who can stop me from Twittering, apparently, so you can get all the Mike you can handle over there.

So bear with me. I promise not to suck.

Booo corporate secrets. Hooray group-think.

Technorati Tags: Gizmodo, Apple, iPod, blogosphere

At certain points in time, Wikipedia has been more popular than Amazon.com, CNN.com, NYTimes.com and other media big dogs. Hooray for social media!

Technorati Tags: Steve Rubel Micro Persuasion Wikipedia

Paris Hilton arrested for drunk driving

Who gives half a shit? Isn’t that what E! and Us Weekly are for? Why is Fox News wasting time, space and effort on this? I’m sure other “news” outlets are doing it, too, but I’m not watching them right now.

When will it end?

Technorati Tags: Fox News Paris Hilton

First, as I mentioned a while back, on the same day, MSNBC recently used as “experts” an editor from the National Enquirer and shamed media personality Armstrong Williams. Now, today I see for the first time (although I gather that it happens regularly!) that Fox News – Sean Hannity, specifically – is using racist cop Mark Fuhrman as a commentator.

Maybe Mark Fuhrman isn’t a racist for real, but many (most?) people think so after the O.J. Simpson trial. Seriously, read his Wikipedia entry. At the very least, anything that comes out of his mouth has to be questionable, doesn’t it?

Also, it’s important to note that Sean Hannity is crazy (one example), so his choice in “trusted sources” is probably warped as shit. But what the hell, man?

Apparently if people have simply heard of you, you’ll make a better commentator than someone who, you know, knows stuff. What’s next? Wolf Blitzer interviewing Linda Tripp for a story on data privacy?

(By the way, I have no real reason for picking on CNN right now – because I never watch CNN. It’s boring. Maybe that’s the trade-off: boring or…Mark Fuhrman’s crazy ass.)

Technorati Tags: Fox News UnJournalism Mark Fuhrman Sean Hannity racist crazy

At one point, Jack Herrick, of eHow.com and wikiHow fame, was quoted as saying:

“I think there’s going to be a lot of wikis,” Mr. Herrick said. “But I’m not sure how many of them will make money.”

He’s probably right: Most surely won’t make much or any money. However, this statement causes people to lose sight of one important idea: using wikis for something other than simply making money.

Wikis can be great public relations tools. Consider the tremendous community-building and “sense of ownership” qualities offered by the wiki idea. Whether you’re launching a product, testing messages, conducting research or doing several other tasks in which you’d like input from your audience, wikis can be of great use.

There’s more to this issue than simply making money in the short term. Look at wikis as a long-term tool for establishing thought-leadership and for fostering a strong sense of community and belonging around your brand or organization.

Technorati Tags: wiki, wikis, New York Times, eHow, Jack Herrick, public relations

At one point, the reporter states:

Students moving or helping move others into U dorms Thursday generally liked the new policy, though some acknowledged it wouldn’t stop drinking in the dorms.

“Generally liked”? [Cough, cough...] Bullshit!

Technorati Tags: Pioneer Press, University of Minnesota, alcohol, policy, bullshit

First of all, dude, Generation M is about “multitasking” or “media”? That’s rather lame. Do we really need more “Generation [Whatever]s”? And if you must assign a letter to this “generation,” based on your premise, shouldn’t it be K, for “Generation Kiss My Ass, Advertiser?”

Second, Cody says about an 18-year-old girl (his daughter?):

[Marketers are unaware that] Catharine is IMing her “buds” Kimmy, Christie and Sarah, asking their advice on the coolest styles. And, she’ll choose her shoes based upon what her friends say, not what a TV spot or traditional placement tells her to do.

People keep talking about this social-media era as if it’s literally a whole new world. It’s not. The media have changed, but the reality is still the same: I care more about what my friend or my mom or my boss tells me than what a TV commercial or a banner ad or even a well-earned media placement tells me. Of course. This isn’t only true now, but it’s also true for the folks who were around well before Al Gore invented the Internet. But some folks, like Cody, talk about this “new” era in which – gasp – kids don’t care about ads!

It’s not like text messaging or DVR changed that. I still don’t want to see advertising, but everyone knows it’s place. And that place, of course, is the 16 minutes during “Lost” in which I flip past 40 pages of ads in Rolling Stone. (And then buy what my friend bought because he’s smarter than Crispin Porter + Bogusky will ever be.)

Technorati Tags: Steven Cody, Bulldog Reporter, Generation M, social media, multitasking, marketing, text messaging, Crispin Porter + Bogusky

WashPo has been embracing social media for a while. Some time ago it integrated Technorati tags, links and searches with it online content. Good for them. They’re not changing what they’re doing, but they’re wisely adding to what they do. I’m excited to see what comes in the future.

Technorati Tags: Washington Post, Steve Rubel, Micro Persuasion, blog, comments, news, social media

I could fire off a rant about how the media portray women in a way that make less-than-”perfect” women feel terrible about an extra couple pounds…but I don’t care. This is just funny as hell.

Thanks to TV Newser for the photo.