This year, I used the power of social networks to expand my Mobile World Congress experience. In past years, I took a tunnel vision type approach to the show with my experience the sum of previously scheduled meetings and press briefings at the show.  With social networks, you get the sense of being part of a larger experience.

Following other Mobile World Congress attendees on Twitter gives the effect of flipping across multiple channels where you tune in and out of different people’s show experience. Before the show everyone is preparing for and traveling to the show. The effect is like the opening number of a Broadway show, where everyone sets up their roles in the show – like Putting it Together from Sunday in the Park with George. It is hard not to get caught up in the anticipation and the sense that you are part of something bigger.

Each day before I arrived at the show, I checked in on Facebook and Twitter to see what my Tweeps were up to at the show. It ranged from reporters who were providing real-time reports from a seemingly endless run of handset and OS press conferences to hung over people that missed their first meetings of the day. If it was happening people were tweeting it and it created a fascinating kaleidoscope.

Readers of Vantage Points know that I was part of arranging the first Mobile World Congress Tweet Up (an in-person meeting of people on Twitter and other social networks). The Tweet Up was an opportunity to share opinions about the show and the future of mobile. It also generated over 300 hits to Vantage Points. Between the Tweet Up and posts on Facebook and Twitter, I now am part of the global mobile community, although I never had met most of the people before the show.

As we move from Mobile World Congress to CTIA, I intend to build on expanding this social approach to trade shows. Look for a Tweet Up in Las Vegas, and more interaction with the global mobile social community.

Why should the media and bloggers have a monopoly in recapping last year’s events? Though most Vantge Points posts are about thought leadership, we want to get in on the action too. So here is the very first Vantage Communications Year in Review.

Despite a very challenging economic environment, it was a year of continued success for our clients as well as for our agency. Some of the 2008 highlights are recapped below: 

1. We re-launched the company as Vantage Communications with a new website and our Vantage Points Blog. 

2. 10 new clients joined our client family. This reflected strong growth in green building PR and social media.  We are also proud that 10 of our clients have been with us for over 2 years.

3. Multiple clients received recognition as recipients of elite awards including Wall Street Journal’s 2008 Technology Innovation Award,Aspen Institute for Innovation in Energy Conservation, Deloitte & Touche Technology Fast 50, Light Reading’s Leading Lights Award, eWeek Top 10 Products of 2008 and Popular Science Best of What’s New.
4. Vantage Communications also cleaned up on awards with the Stevie Award for Best PR Campaign and finalists for Platinum PR Award, Sabre Award and Stevie Award for Best Company.
5. Our clients were consistently featured in top tier publications. Please check out our best of coverage which includes Wall Street Journal, BusinessWeek, NY Times, Fast Company, Forbes, CBS, ABC, FORTUNE, WIRED, and USA Today.
6. As an innovative communications company, we’ve truly embraced social media. Our staff is active on Facebook and Twitter and 18 people contributed to Vantage Points.
7. Vantage expanded its client services to include more new media capabilities such as video production & editing and audio podcast support, completing several client projects during the year.
8. Company-wide Vantage has added new green initiatives across its offices. It is important to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.

We are very proud of our 2008 accomplishments. We could not have achieved what we did without the support of our clients and the members of the Vantage ecosystem. For this, we are truly thankful. We have more innovations in store for 2009. But for now, here’s a toast to our clients, our team, our partners, and the new companies we’ll partner with in 2009!

And Stephen Wildstrom gives NBC the gold medal…in cluelessness…over on BusinessWeek’s The Tech Beat.

In a world of blogging, microblogging and instantaneous everything on the Internet, it seems NBC Universal really dropped the ball this August when it came to Olympic coverage of events halfway around the world.

In regards to Usain Bolt’s unbelievable feats on the track, Stephen points out, “But the best you can get on nbcolympics.com is a still photo. And don’t think about YouTube either – Bolt videos are being taken down, apparently at the demand of NBC Universal, as fast as they go up.”

What do you think?? Did NBC miss the boat on this, one of the most widely-anticipated Olympic games, possibly ever?? During an era when technology is at our fingertips??

While Beijing has been the world focus for the Olympics, China also has been one of the fastest growing PR markets. High tech companies are eager to enter the Chinese market for its endless opportunities, and successful PR will help them to engage the local markets.

Coming from a PR agency in Asia, I can say that PR there is more event-oriented from my perspective. I used to support many in-person product launch events and press conferences, handling materials, providing hospitality, talking about the news to generate coverage. PR agencies were in charge of every event detail from the beginning to the end. On top of it we had daily PR tasks such as drafting press releases, pitching as well as media monitoring.

On the other hand, in the U.S we do a lot of individual phone briefings and meetings at tradeshows for press outreach. PR professionals must be creative to rise above the noise to provide fresh ideas and grab attention from the press. PR in the U.S. involves more strategic thinking which is one aspect that I really enjoy working here. We work with our clients to come up with the best message and strategy to go to the market.

It is interesting how PR is different from the east and west, and PR professionals should always keep in mind that the cultural differences play a significant role in global PR. Here at Vantage, we know those differences first hand, and partner with our clients to make sure we are properly their message in each country.