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Google Reader in Plain English

Lee and Sachi Lefever, otherwise known as the fine folks from Common Craft, have produced yet another in their “In Plain English” series. In this latest installation, they explain Google Reader, in plain English, of course.

I’ve been a user of Google Reader for about a year now. It helps me by consolidating all the RSS feeds of blogs that I like to keep up with. Here’s a very short list of some of my favorite blogs:

And for some background, you may also want to watch one of Common Craft’s first paperworks explanations: RSS in Plain English.

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The Conversation Prism

Many thanks to Brian Solis & Jesse Thomas for creating The Conversation Prism, a wonderfully visual way to think about how we communicate using social media. According to Brian:

[The Conversation Prism] is a living, breathing representation of Social Media and will evolve as services and conversation channels emerge, fuse, and dissipate.

If a conversation takes place online and you’re not there to hear or see it, did it actually happen?

Indeed. Conversations are taking place with or without you and this map will help you visualize the potential extent and pervasiveness of the online conversations that can impact and influence your business and brand.

I encourage you to read the complete article at the PR 2.0 blog.

Photo Credit: To see the full version of The Conversation Prism image, visit Flickr.
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Chris Brogan Shares Links to 20 Free e-Books on Social Media

Earlier this month, Chris Brogan, VP Strategy & Technology at CrossTech Media, shared 20 links to free e-books on social media. With Chris’ permission, I’ve reprinted his list below. Thanks Chris, and thanks to all the authors, for sharing this content with us.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

  1. The New Rules of Viral Marketing – David Meerman Scott
  2. Marketing Apple – MarketingApple.com
  3. Masters of Marketing – Startup Internet Marketing
  4. Podcast Marketing eBook – Christopher S. Penn
  5. Google Adwords Secrets – SEOBook
  6. Get Viral Get Visitors – Stacie Mahoe
  7. Marketing With Case Studies – Dynamic Copywriting
  8. How to Write a Marketing Plan – Geisheker Group
  9. SEO for WordPress blogs – Blizzard Internet
  10. Social Web Analytics – Social Web Analytics
  11. Geeks Guide to Promoting Yourself With Twitter – Geekpreneur
  12. The Zen of Blogging – Hunter Nutall
  13. What is Social Media – iCrossing
  14. A Primer in Social Media – SmashLab
  15. Effective Internet Presence – Effective Internet Presence
  16. Introduction to Good Usability – Peter Pixel
  17. Increasing the Response to Your Email Marketing Program – CRM Transformation
  18. We Have a Website. Now What? – Craig Rentmeester
  19. Blogs & Social Media – PRSA
  20. The Podcast Customer Revealed – Edison Media Research

Photo credit: “30 Free e-Books to Learn Everything About Personal Finance,” originally uploaded to Flickr by  Mint Software

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A Twitter Lexicon

Twitter is my favorite microblogging service. There are many, many glossaries of Twitter vocabulary on the web. So many, in fact, it’s almost overwhelming to a newbie to Twitter.

Let’s come up with the top 10 words that someone new to Twitter should know. Here are eight that I came up with quickly. Can you help round out the list?

  1. Tweet: Your 140-character (or shorter) message
  2. Twittering: The act of sending your tweet
  3. Followers: People who receive your tweets
  4. Retweet: Forwarding a tweet to your followers
  5. @ : The symbol that precedes the name of a person you’re replying to
  6. Tweep: Someone you know on Twitter
  7. Tweeple: See “tweep”
  8. Twoops: Accidentally sending a direct (private) message publicly

(And if you’re wondering “what’s Twitter?” see the clear and concise description from Common Craft, the company that specializes in explaining complex things in plain English.)

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Jumpstart on Fall Classes: Textbooks

If you’re looking to get a jumpstart on my classes at Georgia Southern University this fall, here are the books that I will be using. I’ve linked to many of them at Amazon.com, but of course you can purchase them from anywhere you like. I recommend you try the Facebook Marketplace first, so you can get a good deal AND help a fellow student.

For All of My Classes

A USB drive, at least 1G

Corporate Public Relations (PRCA 3331)

Doorley, J., & Garcia, H. F. (2007). Reputation management: The key to successful public relations and corporate communications. New York: Routledge.

Li, C., & Bernoff, J. (2008). Groundswell: Winning in a world transformed by social technologies
Boston, MA: Forrester Research, Inc.

Public Relations Publications (PRCA 3339)

Morton, L. P. (2006). Strategic publications: Designing for target publics. Greenwood, AR: Best Books Plus.

Recommended but not required: Botello, C., & Reding, E. E. (2007). Design collection revealed: Adobe InDesign CS3, Photoshop CS3 & Illustrator CS3
Clifton Park, NY: Delmar Cengage Learning.

Public Speaking (COMM 1110)

German, K. M., Gronbeck, B. E., Ehninger, D., & Monroe, A. H. (2007). Principles of public speaking (16th ed.). New York: Allyn & Bacon.

Making Connections: Facebook & Beyond (FYE 1220)

No textbook required, but occasional access to a digital camera needed

Photo Credit: bookshelf, originally uploaded to Flickr by chotda 

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New Media Academic Summit 2008 : People Are Talking

People are talking. Actually, they are blogging about their experiences at the New Media Academic Summit 2008, co-sponsored by Edelman and PR Week.

If you attended the Summit and I have not mentioned your blog here, please drop me a line.
 

 

Photo credit: kryptonite, originally uploaded to Flickr by ? marc_l’esperance