September 2006 - Posts

• Canadian Forces' unveil blog policy... subtle (or not so) message: Don't

  (courtesy of Joe over at ProPR) Following on my recent post about Canada's military and blogging soldiers, The Canadian Forces have unveiled their online (blog) policy... basically, don't. The guilty party - protocol #4: 4. CF MEMBERS ARE TO CONSULT WITH Read More... Posted 29 September 2006 11:25 by Brendan Hodgson | 1 Comments

• Finding our client's "real" story

  Leo talked a lot about listening in a recent CSI post. As an aside, and while his Twain quote hits the nail on the head, my own favorite "listening" blurb is by Hugh Elliott : "Listen. Do not have an opinion while you listen because frankly, your opinion Read More... Posted 29 September 2006 08:22 by Brendan Hodgson | 3 Comments Filed under: Writing

• A Story in One Sentence

  As you may have noticed from an earlier post , I like words. With the right words, people and organizations can tell extremely powerful stories. At the same time, I'm also a believer that less is more when trying to communicate a message with impact. Read More... Posted 26 September 2006 12:35 by Brendan Hodgson | 2 Comments Filed under: Writing

• Smells like... Victory

  Rather than harangue the mainstream media for playing all lovey-dovey with Mattel over it's TMX Elmo, perhaps the "cup half empty" folks at the CJR should be applauding the blood, sweat, toil and tears of the nameless PR team that executed such a coup. Read More... Posted 25 September 2006 09:13 by Brendan Hodgson | 0 Comments

• Shel is Here... Hear Shel Speak... Tonight, that is (September 25)

  If you haven't already signed up , don't forget to join 30+ of your closest PR friends, colleagues and competitors at Fresco Cielo in Ottawa tonight (6 pm EDT) to confab with, confound and cajole " Naked Conversations " co-author Shel Israel (likely in Read More... Posted 25 September 2006 08:26 by Brendan Hodgson | 0 Comments

• AMA Panel shines spotlight on Social Media

  This past Thursday, I sat on a panel titled: " The next Viral Marketing Revolution - when, what, how, who? " It was the latest in a regular series of events run by the Toronto Chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Essentially, it was 5 Read More... Posted 21 September 2006 20:24 by Brendan Hodgson | 2 Comments

• The message is...

  In the course of my work, I often find myself perusing pages of "key messages" drafted by organizations either preparing to launch a new thingymajig, shutting down a redundant whojimawhigger, acquiring a multi-billion dollar whatchamacallit, or perhaps Read More... Posted 18 September 2006 15:25 by Brendan Hodgson | 2 Comments Filed under: Writing

• Words, Language and Finagle's Law of Information

  In addition to counselling on web-related issues and helping clients create more compelling and engaging personalities online, I write. A lot. In fact, I am perhaps at my most professionally content when I am challenged to create a document required to Read More... Posted 07 September 2006 08:45 by Brendan Hodgson | 6 Comments Filed under: Writing

• Ikea, blogs and rumours

  Kevin Dugan's piece on Ikea's decision to build a store in Ohio is a welcome respite from some of the more prevalent corporate bashing (particularly if you're an Ikea fan, or at least a believer in the positive implications of social media from a PR perspective)... Read More... Posted 06 September 2006 15:08 by Brendan Hodgson | 0 Comments

• Recollections of a Rotten Night

  The fire alarm went off at my hotel last night. It was 3:30 in the morning. Luckily it wasn't raining or cold. So as we all waited on the street while the firemen did their firemen-y things, I had time to think. Assuming it was a false alarm, and knowing Read More... Posted 06 September 2006 08:36 by Brendan Hodgson | 0 Comments