As you probably already know, last week was the first week of the new show “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.”While I don’t watch many late night shows myself, his is truly one that I have come to enjoy. He brings geeky to a whole new level. Not only is he on Twiter, but he recently attended this year’s CES show.

On Monday night, Jimmy brought on Engadget’s Joshua Topolsky to talk about the new Palm Pre. Not very familar with the other two guests, I quickly jumped to the end of the show to catch this hilarious, but awesome interview. Acting like good ol’ buddies, Jimmy and Josh discussed the new Palm Pre and how it competes with the iPhone.

What really gets me is the fact that so many of my friends don’t know about Twitter or Engadget for that matter! A fellow geek, Jimmy is pushing all of the blogs, articles, social media, etc. that we deal with on an everyday basis into the view of others. Not only that, but he COMMUNICATES to the rest of the world. Commenting on other tech blogs, getting interview questions from Twitter, regularly updating his show’s blog - these are all actions that I find really impressive.

Want to satisfy your inner-geekiness too? Catch Late Night with Jimmy Fallon each weeknight at 12:35E/11:35c (or DVR it!). If not for the geek factor, then at least for the Like it for $10 and other fun segments! Follow @jimmyfallon and @joshuatopolsky for some additional entertainment.

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.

On Thursday, I went to Orlando’s first official tweetup, organized by @etanowitz and The Orlando Sentinel. While tweetups are fairly common in areas such as San Francisco, it was great to finally meet the faces of several people I’ve been conversing back and forth with on Twitter. Not only did I get a chance to meet @Jackbastide and @Garth_Williams in person, but I also met many great new people such as @Jamespero, @Amykr and @Weatherangel!

One of the many topics that were brought up in my conversations revolved around forming local communities. Many of us go about our lives, hanging out with our close friends, often establishing new relationships through friends of our friends. But where do you go to network? What opportunities are out there that you’re missing?

Over 100 people showed up to the Orlando Tweetup. Pretty good turnout if you ask me! Each person had something different to offer. I chatted with people about sleep apnea, iPhone apps and even found someone who lived right down the street from me! In social media, it’s all about showing that you are a human being. No one wants to talk to a robot, or talk about business all the time. But you can guarantee that each person is an expert in their own field and this will of course come up in conversation.

So get out there!!! See what’s going on in your community. Can’t find anything? Start your own Tweetup and spread the word. Even if it’s an intimate group of people, it’s still a win-win situation. Check out this video by @kwidrick to see what some people have to say about the Tweetup.

Be sure to follow me and all my updates on twitter: @MarieGoltara

But what I found most interesting is that my peers hadn’t prepared me for this revolution. Not just Twitter, but the whole notion of social networking for professional use.  Isn’t my generation supposed to be innovators – the people that change the way society functions?

I’ve been on Facebook for almost five years now and before I started at Vantage I hadn’t once considered using it to gain a professional advantage. I thought of it as something “all the kids” were doing and eventually I would have to grow up, get a job and let my Facebook identity become one my many fond college memories. Turns out, I need to grow up and join more social networking sites!

Much to my confusion, I get the vibe that updating my Facebook status as frequently as I do is not that as well-received by my peers as it is by my employer. It feels like my generation is rebelling the revolution. I can’t help but wonder if we are afraid of being able to connect and talk with people – we started texting to get off the phone, after all. Or maybe we’re so used to being able to hide behind carefully controlled Facebook and MySpace profiles it’s hard to come to terms with the fact that maintaining these profiles can unveil more about yourself than the real world can. Our masks have become transparent.

In the end, I’m relieved that I have discovered the many social networking sites that connect me with a world that’s out of my physical reach.  I’m enthusiastic about the relationships I am building with the professionals in my industry and hope that I can encourage my peers to come around and feel the same way.  

Social networking is a whole new way to see the world and a whole new way to get to know yourself. It’s a challenge to remain interested/interesting and to keep up at all times, but with all challenges come rewards and this one is too big to pass up.

Update: Tweet Up at Mobile World Congresson Wednesday Feb. 18 at 5 pm. Location: 7 Sins, Muntaner 7, 08011. Please check out http://blog.pr-vantage.com/?p=1036 for more Tweet Up details.

Surprisingly, less than a month before Mobile World Congress 2009, no one had set up a hash tag on Twitter for the major wireless industry trade show. A “hash tag” uses the symbol – # – followed by a name to allow people to search and find information on Twitter. With a hash tag, people attending the show could connect with other people at the show. Also, people not attending the show could follow in real-time what was happening at the show.

So into the breach jumped the Vantage Communications team. With the help of Tory Klaubo, we checked out who recently had posted Tweets on Mobile World Congress. We then got a discussion going and came up with #mwc09. Then we tweeted the name out to the community, and it was retweeted and retweeted. Our imediate goal is to connect more people attending the show via Twitter. Eventually, the plan is for me to be Live-Tweeting during the show.

Although social networking will be a hot topic for MWC 09, it is surprising that the organizer, GSMA, is not actively using Twitter, Facebook, etc. to enhance the experience of people attending the show. There have been sporadic posts on social media about trying to make a connection. Yet, there seems to be a large void in connecting these people. With travel budgets under siege, trade show organizers need to go the extra mile. Using social media to make connection seems like an easy and inexpensive way to add value.

Until this comes to pass, Vantage is stepping up. Join us by spreading the word about the show via Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. To keep up with my Mobile World Congress experiences, follow me on Twitter: @robadler. If you want to meet at the show, e-mail info [at] pr-vantage.com, leave your contact information in the comments or send me a message on Twitter.  But social networking will only be successful if  we all are responsible and take action. Look forward to connecting with you.

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!

Recently, someone posted the Twitter addresses of all of the BusinessWeek editorial staff. What makes this especially interesting was that the poster was not a hacker or a wayward PR person, it was John Byrne, Editor in Chief of BusinessWeek.  In his article, Byrne stated:

“Two months ago, in a post entitled Twittering Your Way Into Our Newsroom, I invited readers to follow me and partake in an experiment to bring the outside in and the inside out. Some 2,640 people are now following me. Thousands of others are following the more than 30 journalists at BusinessWeek who are now on Twitter.

So if you are on Twitter, I invite you into our newsroom via my Tweets.”

The article resulted in the BW editors and reporters on the list receiving a spike of followers on Twitter. Of course, some of the people who took Byrne up on his invitation were PR folks.  The reaction to the reporters to PR folks in the newsroom was decidedly mixed. Some sent tweets welcoming their new followers. On the other hand, Steven Baker, one of the reporters, responded with a blog post, Freak out: Twitter infested by PR.  Baker noted that reporters “thought they shared their Twitter streams with a small group of friends and colleagues—and suddenly dozens of strangers were jumping on: Flacks!”  Baker estimates that half of his 2500 followers are PR folk.

The result is not particularly surprising.  Social media is becoming an important part of every PR campaign. PR agencies need to master social media tools before we can advise our clients on how to use them.  Tom Foremski of Silicon Valley Watcher said it bluntly, “I’ve always said that PR firms cannot claim to know anything about new/social media if they aren’t using it themselves.” 

This is one of the key reason that we created Vantage Points, and I proudly note that 17  people at Vantage have written posts for our blog. It also is why everyone at Vantage is on Facebook (including the CEO), we have our own Facebook Group, and most of us are twittering. For those of you who haven’t used Twitter, its like Facebook on speed, without all the pretty pictures.

So as the media and PR agencies jump into social media, we are finding that it is changing the way we interact with each other.  Facebook and Twitter shine a light on each other beyond the byline and the press release. Sometimes, it means that we see the frustrations that we each face in doing our jobs. Other times, it is sharing parts of our lives that are outside work, such as sharing opinions and recommendations on music.  Moreover, to help briidge the gap, there is now a  Journchat on Twitter,  which is a weekly (Mon 7-10pm CST) conversation between journalists, bloggers and public relations folks.

I also understand  how Stephen Baker felt.  That initial realization of being out in the open can catch you unaware.  I remember the first time someone outside Vantage (an editor!)  joined our group on Facebook.  It felt like someone snuck into our clubhouse.  But we quickly realized that it is really cool thing, and now encourage it.

And now, as John Byrne did…I invite you to follow me and some of my Vantage colleagues on Twitter:

@Robadler

@JenniferKutz

@lydhow

@CatrionaHarris

@lmchen

@cynthialai

@MarieGoltara

@rachelmarshall

@Klister

@toryk

@bschweitzer

@lyndastarr

@ar_perry

A tip of the hat to Catriona Harris for helping make sure this is the last post for 2008; rather than the first of 2009. 

PR News Platinum PR Awards exemplify the “most innovative approaches to redefining traditional PR with anything but traditional strategies.” Vantage Communications was a finalist in the Media Relations category. We were recognized for our campaign with eTelemetry to launch its new Metron bandwidth management tool. We gained national media attention from newspapers, TV stations, and online pubs by leveraging the NCAA March Madness tournament to measure Internet usage during the workday. Thanks to the Vantage team and eTelemetry for their hard work on the campaign.

At the awards luncheon, Peter Shankman, self-described as “entrepreneur, author, speaker, and ingenious worldwide connector” was the keynote speaker. Peter is the author of Can We Do That?! Outrageous PR Stunts That Work and Why Your Company Needs Them. He warned that we are losing control over messages due to the Web and non-professionals posting on YouTube, Facebook etc. and need to be cautious about and track employee postings. Employees also need to be warned about posting self-incriminating videos. Finally, he noted that we are all focused on social media, but the social aspect is just as important as the media and we all need to keep in mind the personal side of business relationships.

The lesson of the day—There are many innovative ideas in PR, including from Vantage and rather than getting hooked on buzzwords such as social media or blogs, focus on having good campaigns that take risks rather than the same old, same old.

This Saturday, I attended BlogOrlando 3. Whether attendees were established journalists, technology gurus, bloggers, PR professionals or just a casual passerby wanting to stop in, the conference offered great insight into both the local scene and industry-wide trends. From Etan Horowitz of the Orlando Sentinel to Sarah Perez of ReadWriteWeb, great interactive sessions took place the whole day.

Among one of the many sessions I attended was David Alston’s “Monitoring” session. He instilled the idea of constantly monitoring social media when it comes to trends, industry jargon, competitors and especially clients. As we all know, negative word of mouth spreads like a wildfire compared to any type of positive comment. As the use of social networks grow, so does the importance of keeping a watchful eye on your company name. Have you searched Twitter for your company name? How about Facebook or Myspace? It is interesting what we find for clients.

It could very well be that you are being mentioned without even realizing it!

As our online worlds become more and more social, conversational, and collaborative, we are seeing many traditional PR processes evolve as well. One of the most recent changes we’ve witnessed is how our clients submit to speak at industry events. No longer are we simply writing an abstract for the presentation, putting together a bio for a company executive and clicking ‘send’ on an email.

Several events are now actively involving their audience in the selection process, and allowing potential attendees to vote on the sessions they would be most interested in seeing. Some of these shows include Oracle’s OpenWorld, the Web 2.0 Expo, and Enterprise 2.0. Some potential speakers have taken it upon themselves to use their blogs to promote submitted panel ideas- see a good example here.

One of our clients is currently in the running to present at another popular tech industry event, the South by Southwest Interactive Festival next March 13-17, 2009. The SXSW voting process is probably the most technologically advanced and socially-savvy we have seen yet. Their ‘Interactive Panel Picker’ interface allows anyone to go in and browse suggested panel ideas (along with 50-word descriptions), organized by technology area, and rate the panels they would be most interested in hearing about at the event. Loomia’s topic is Privacy and Personalization – Oxymoron or the Perfect Match?, which will expound on the controversy that online ad targeting (i.e., Beacon) and personalization has created in terms of user privacy standards.

If this piques your interest, you can vote for it here- and feel free to pass the word along!