It was also about social media with a good helping of marketing thrown in. Most of the panels I attended were valuable and the ones that weren’t had one thing in common—the panelists talked about things that were not on topic. #protip: stay on topic.

I can’t cover every fantastic panel I saw, but I want you to promise me that if you ever have a chance to see Kris Krug speak on photography, you will run, not walk, to whatever room he’s in. Promise me.

The panel I do want to highlight was “Ethics and Social Media.” Brandon Eley, Jason Baer, Jeremy Wright and Patrick O’Keefe rocked this thing. My favorite takeaways involved building relationships with bloggers and the permission bloggers and social media users are granting or not.

The panelists encouraged the audience to be mindful of the power of symmetry of relationships and the social friendship scale. Social media is opt-in and once it’s not, the power becomes asymmetrical and you wind up with an unhappy blogger.

The social friendship scale is a process by which we think connecting is okay. First we @reply someone on Twitter, then connect on LinkedIn, then finally on Facebook. If we leapfrog over these steps, we do so at our own risk.

Forums, message boards and groups were also a hot topic. They seem a bit like shooting fish in a barrel for a PR person. “Look! A whole group of people talking about something my client profits from!” But groups and message boards are essentially a dinner party, not a candle party or Tupperware Party or a Naked Lady Party. They’re places for people to meet up and communicate without being hawked a candle, plastic container or old clothes.

Patrick O’Keefe gave the audience Patrick’s Pyramid of Permission for approaching communities.

Step 1: Observe community norms

Step 2: Read community guidelines

Step 3: Ask staff for permission to post or for clarification

He said that we should always reach out to the community manager before posting. When we do that, we build up social credit with the manager.

The panel wrapped up with the five characteristics of ethical social media marketing.

1)      Always disclose

2)      Be honest

3)      Get permission

4)      Use only the data you need

5)      Respect the space you’re in

We’re in PR because we thrive on the thrill of the kill—grabbing that big hit before the next guy does. And these tips are a great reminder that social media is still about humans talking to other humans. Not humans talking about our clients. Even though we really, really want them to.

In case you haven’t heard it, here’s the background: two weeks ago, Gap tried to introduce a new logo to replace its decades-old blue box icon. Customers and designers piled online to heap criticism and venom on the new artwork, and ultimately forced the retailer to bring back the old version in a public show of humiliation (and probably at great expense).

I’m not a graphic professional, but I know where to find some experts in the field. So for a little perspective I asked some of CMD’s design pros for their thoughts and what they would have recommended to Gap. Here’s a little taste:

Jenn Brewer, CMD designer, says brands need to look at their logo and brand history while keeping an eye on their audience when they go through a rebranding exercise. Only then can a redesign campaign (slight modifications or a total overhaul) be determined. Does she think Gap should have given in to the criticism?

“No, it should have been confident enough in its new logo that it could rationally and intelligently deflect the criticism,” she said. “Giving in to the criticism tells me that perhaps the company was not in agreement about the new logo in the first place.”

Thom Marchionna, CMD creative director, said that a logo is only the tip of the spear for a brand evaluation, and other companies could learn from this situation by paying attention to core issues first before introducing a refreshed logo.

“Solve any underlying business problem first, such as product quality, customer service or differentiation,” he said. “Only when you can make a promise to your audience that things are positively better and different, can you introduce the symbolism that reinforces that. To do otherwise is like putting a fresh coat of paint on the hull of the Titanic.”

And what should Gap have done differently?

“Pretty much everything,” he continued. “Forget the lousy logo. Those happen all the time. Entrusting a logo redesign to a traditional ad agency may have been the first mistake. A branding firm would have started with more probing questions, the first three of which might be, ‘how much equity exists in the current logo with our most loyal customers and influencers?’ ‘what is the nature of that equity?’ and ‘what do we risk by changing our symbol?’”

Marchionna said the real failure, in his opinion, was a surprising lack of understanding of the power of the social web.

“It is the most immediate and powerful focus group technology in history,” he said. “And it dictates a code of conduct that one would expect a company such as Gap to be attuned to. Its response to the criticism was disingenuous at best and tragically underestimated the audience’s intelligence to see through ill-conceived efforts to save face. All of which violated the implicit social contracts on which all relationships are based: trust, honesty, and authenticity, to name but a few.”

As this situation showed, indeed every brand change is now open to debate and fair game for backlash by the public and the marketing community. The key to success, in my opinion, is to do the research, answer the tough questions that need clarification internally, and have the confidence to stick to what your gut tells you. I had a basketball coach once who said “you can’t lie to yourself,” so if Gap was lying to itself about its overall business shortcomings and thought a new logo would help distract the public, it was asking for criticism.

What do you think?

1)      Take a picture

Pictures really are worth a thousand words. They’re a fast way to create content and a fast way for users to consume content. Be sure to add keywords to the photo to grab SEO juice as well.

2)      Hoard your posts

Most blogging platforms allow you to schedule your posts. Write a few when you have time and inspiration, and schedule them to post later.

3)      Read the news

Industry news, world news, or news from an admired blogger are all great places to find inspiration. Check out the top stories and write a paragraph about your opinion or thoughts on the topic and ask your community for their thoughts as well.

4)      Make a list

Just like a picture, a list is easy for a reader to consume quickly. Some great lists are your industry’s top five blogs, five blogs you like to read at home, or five inspiring Twitter users. Be sure to add links for added SEO benefits.

5)      Keep a notebook handy

I know we’re talking blogging, but we’re not always in front of the computer when ideas for blog posts appear. Keep a small notebook for those moments and return to that notebook when you need inspiration.

Do you have a quick tip on creating killer content? Leave it in the comments!

To get the inside scoop on some recent CMD video activity, I caught up with Associate Creative Director John O’Connell, who shared two recent projects with me that show the breadth of ideas that come out of the agency, and how clients are wanting their creative content to reach audiences in nontraditional locations.

Let me recap the spots briefly before jumping into some deeper insight:

1. For Microsoft’s Zune HD initiative, CMD produced a commercial that is shown on all United Airlines international flights on seatback and main cabin monitors. The campaign includes a print ad running in United’s Hemispheres magazine.

“The spot works well with or without sound and conveys the product message regardless of a viewer’s native language,” said O’Connell.  “The commercial was shot on a RED camera and the goal was to show the Zune’s main features in a vibrant, stylish format and demonstrate that the product is a premium portable entertainment experience.”

You can see the spot here: http://preview.cmdpdx.com/video/Other/Zune_HD_Footage/index.html

What really amazed me is that the time from concept to completion for the Zune HD commercial was only six weeks.

2. A recent spot for ASUS running in movie theatres visually tells a story about the product’s clean lines, and the music is pretty powerful, drawing the viewer in. Shot in Portland, the bamboo theme is simple, understated, and relevant with today’s environmental messages.

Bamboo was part of a larger campaign created through a joint marketing program and was leveraged through online banners, a microsite, YouTube channel and Facebook page.

Watch the ASUS video here: http://preview.cmdpdx.com/video/Other/ASUS_BAMBOO/index.html

So what makes a good commercial these days? Here’s what the video experts at CMD are seeing in the industry:

• High production quality: DIY video is so prevalent on the web, particularly on YouTube, that standing out from the crowd today requires top-level quality.
• Quick: Traditional 30-second spots still are the #1 format to capture the viewer’s attention, get the point across, and tout a call-to-action.
• Unique channels: Clients are exploring new ways to reach audiences using commercials that are nontraditional. Cinema and airline advertising are just two examples.
• Affordable: Everyone is watching budgets; commercials don’t have to be expensive to be good.
• Multipurpose: Quality commercials can do more than double-duty when their use is extended as fresh content on social media channels, websites, and at trade shows.

What do you think?

We really want to emphasize taking a fresh look at your resume and ensuring it communicates what you do, and perhaps more importantly, who you are. Your accomplishments and identity simply need to jump off the page at hiring managers if you want yours to stand out among the flood of cover letters.

Here are a few choice examples, taken from real-life resumes that have passed through my inbox.

“… experience including writing, content creation, media outreach”

OK, that’s a good start describing the basic skills that I may be seeking for a job opening, but I really want to know what the outcomes and successes have been as a result of doing these things in the business world, or in blogging life. Here’s what catches my eye a bit more:

“Writing for client pitches in a variety of voices from a ‘playah’ to a women’s rights activist.”

Now that tells me this is a skilled writer who can research and adopt the appropriate tone for various target audiences and then get down to the business of networking with them online. What would make this event stronger would be to articulate the outcome, such as, “secured a client interview with top-tier blogger reaching an audience of thousands.”

Here’s another example of going beyond “event planning.”

“Grew audience from a forty-person gathering in a crépe shop to sold-out theater crowds.”

Now that, I like. Who doesn’t want to bring on a team member with this kind of gumption? This is also the type of detail that helps you get the interview and builds up an identity–the perception of who you are–prior to that interview taking place.

Do you need a translation service for your resume? If you have a quick description that needs a brushup, post it in the comments below and we’ll throw you a few thoughts by return.

If case you haven’t heard, you won’t be able to count on Google Wave after year’s end. I’m sure there are a large number of variables that led to this decision, and Google has probably thought very carefully about each and every one of them. So how can I contribute something new to the conversation? Maybe I can’t. But I will share what I was thinking when I was asked that question.

From a UX perspective, none of the items that stand out to me that were probably big contributors to Wave’s demise are more important than what is defined at the beginning of a UX process: the business problem.

The business problem must be well defined, as everything that follows this step depends on it. Then business objectives and goals are defined to address the business problem, and clear success metrics (usually quantitative and qualitative) are established, which determine if the developed solution has addressed the business problem.

If I had to articulate the primary business problem that traditional email was trying to solve decades ago, I would probably state it this way: It takes too long to send documented communication (digital, or otherwise) from one physical location to another.  I’m sure there are secondary problems, such as expense and inconvenience, but the term “snail mail” was created for a reason.

Although traditional email is clunky and has a ton of perceived problems, which Google took the time to address in its videos, Wave’s biggest problem is that it attempts to solve the same primary business problem as email. And in order for it to uproot an entire worldwide system that’s already adopted, since it doesn’t solve any additional business problems, it must offer SIGNIFICANT (as in game-changing) improvement. But Wave is not a significant-enough improvement over email to motivate businesses, countries, (or grandparents) to learn and adopt a new system.

Unfortunately, you can’t just add loads and loads of cool functionality into a new system and expect immediate positive feedback and adoption from such an enormous audience. Google proved it. While Wave did have some great features which I’m sure will creep into other Google products, if the features don’t lead back to the business problem, they don’t do anything other than establish a cool factor. And as we can continue to learn from Google, you are going to need much more than a strong brand presence, overwhelming hype, and a big cool factor in order to get the user adoption needed to supplant a dominant worldwide system.

The best solution always begins with clearly defining the business problem and creating use cases that specifically address it. That’s what email has done. And when you’re not first to market, (especially by decades), you had better bring something to the table that your audience perceives they need over what they already have. Google didn’t do that with Wave.

On May 27, 2009, Lars Rasmussen made a very intriguing statement, “Wave is what email would look like if it were invented today.” And as thought-provoking as Rasmussen’s statement may have been, it didn’t have much impact, because email had been invented long before that day.

What do you think?

I know the life of an event producer is extremely glamorous and lucrative hectic and occasionally thankless, but Aaron Hockley, photographer and blogger and one of WordCamp’s producers agreed to answer a few questions about event production, giving us the behind the scenes look at why anyone would want to produce events at all. (Besides the riches glory first pick of the morning’s bagels and cream cheese.)

What do you hope attendees will get out of the event?

My goal for WordCamp Portland has always been to bring together bloggers from a variety of backgrounds, businesses, interests, and skill levels. Put all of those folks into a room and everyone is bound to learn from each other and hatch crazy new ideas.

The life of the event producer seems glamorous. What’s something people don’t know about event production?

Glamorous? Hm. Probably the biggest thing that folks don’t realize is the amount of work that isn’t directly related to the speakers or the program that goes into an event. With WordCamp, we put together a lineup of some awesome speakers, but there are all sorts of other logistics and organization that must take place so that attendees get to enjoy the speakers and have a pleasant experience. Ticketing and registration is a big effort. We need to secure a venue that has space for the conference. We need both equipment and expertise for audio/visual issues. We need to have coffee, snacks, and meals for our participants.

We need to cover our expenses. WordCamps are kept affordable and ticketing fees only cover from 25 to 35 percent of the event’s budget, so we depend on some great local sponsors to cover most of the expenses. Someone has to make those connections.

Yes, there’s an accomplished feeling once an event wraps up . . . but (especially for a volunteer-run event like WordCamp), the event can happen only after a lot of work and money from a lot of people.

There are people who would love to start speaking at events. What should they know when applying to be a speaker that would give them an edge above the competition?

Everyone has to start somewhere (heck, I just started speaking at events in the last few years). From a topic/content standpoint, find something and demonstrate your expertise and passion. Before speaking, start blogging, podcasting, or otherwise demonstrating that you know your stuff. When you’re ready to speak, start by finding a small group with a low barrier to entry. We have a couple speakers this year at WordCamp who were chosen after giving great presentations to small user groups of just 15 to 20 people.

Another important tip is to pay attention to the rules and what is asked for in a speaker proposal. Supply all of the information that is requested. I had one speaker submit a page of information when I asked for a “one-line biography.” Speakers who can follow directions are more likely to be selected.

What are you most looking forward to at the September 18-19 event?

I can’t wait to have so many folks who are energized about blogging and social media all together in one room. We always attract a diverse and smart crowd. On a more personal level I’m glad that several friends from around the region and country are planning to attend; it’ll be good to catch up with them while they’re in town for the conference.

Want to learn more about blogging and WordPress? Check out WordCamp Portland!

These brands feed me useful and timely communications, special pricing based on my pre-stated interests and consistently deliver a quality product. And I am fiercely loyal.

But brands can take communications too far, much as a smothering date who calls too much, can’t seem to remember your favorite color, and continually asks you to pick up the tab. If it’s unacceptable in personal relationships, is it acceptable for a brand’s relationship with its customers?

Shouldn’t notes be personal?

Shouldn’t offers of affection be based on customer needs, not brand mandates?

Shouldn’t relationships grow over time?

Even Molly Ringwald had to roll her eyes when Ducky left her eight messages in one evening when all she wanted was one message from Blaine (it’s a name, not a major appliance).

What to do? What to do? Look at the customer database like a personal relationship. Would your best friend enjoy four invites to watch your home movies, or a quick note about sharing a great bottle of wine she mentioned to you a few weeks back?

Consider the following:

1. Value each name: the act of providing contact information is no longer a given, so treat each name as a person and foster the relationship.
2. Be considerate: people are busy. Don’t hit the database with one communication after another. Have rules on usage so the brand doesn’t build a relationship based on customer voicemail and junk mail.
3. Be informative: when communicating, give customers what they want. Avoid the temptation to over-communicate.
4. Be there: be available to support customers. Provide options in case there are additional questions.
5. Get smart: each communication is an opportunity to learn about the customer. Take each click or download and apply it to the record. Use it to create custom communications.

Customer relationships, just like personal ones, require time, dedication and fidelity.  Share the love.

In the next few months, I plan to interview several department directors at CMD to pick their brains about industry trends, research, and overall marketing experience. I’ll share with you what makes them tick, and what current trends are on the top of their minds.

Click below to hear a coffee conversation with Caryn Herder, director in the Strategies and Solutions Group at CMD.

Julie Ma interviews Caryn Herder

And given the volume of job seekers out there, it must feel like swimming upstream. Our recent job posting at CMD drew many candidates, but only two made the final cut for interviews at the agency. And of course, there can be only one who is hired.

These days, it seems like the planets have to align in order for both parties to find the right fit. Are you feeling that way, too?

This happens to be on my mind because Melissa Lion and I are going to speak to bloggers at Portland’s WordCamp in September about translating their skills into the workplace. It occurred to us that we shouldn’t work from our assumptions about job hunting in this environment. We need help from you—the bloggers and job hunters of Portland—so that we can directly address your very real concerns.

If you’re in job search mode, what’s weighing on your mind? We want your burning questions, especially the ones from bloggers.

• What did you really want to ask that hiring manager, but didn’t bring up for fear of objections?
• Have you been in a situation where you and the hiring manager had very different expectations?
• Have you had a good experience lately? What made it good?

Leave your question in the comments section here, or if you can fit it in 140 characters or less, we’ll take it on Twitter too. The really juicy questions we’ll take with us to the WordCamp discussion this fall. We’ll also let you know where to catch the live stream of our Wordcamp session if you’re not able to attend in person.

OK, let’s have it. We want to hear your top questions for hiring managers.