Brian Solis Chats with SocialByte

From the Desk of Melissa Hourigan

So today I am posting a link to a video captured with the infamous Brian Solis. Brian is a PR executive that has literally helped to break down the walls between media and PR pros. He is also recognized for educating PR professionals and businesses alike on the convergence between traditional media and social media.

I got the opportunity to chat with Brian during his visit to Denver to promote a book that he co-wrote, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations: How Social Media Is Reinventing the Aging Business of PR” with Deirdre Breakenridge. This is Solis’ second book and he has another in the works.

As a PR person myself, I know that the days are long, especially when you are running your own firm. One has to wonder how he manages to stay on top as the principal of FutureWorks in addition to all of the many things he does. If you haven’t read his lengthy and informative blogs at BrianSolis.com, set up the feed after you read this – you can thank me later. His insightful blogging recently won him the title of PR Blogger of the Year by the 2009 PR People Awards. Brian also contributes to number of media outlets such as TechCrunch, WebProNews and Brandweek. I am proud to also mention that he is one of my partners for Mediaontwitter (more things to come there as well). He is a frequent speaker and attendee at some of the tech industry’s hottest events and you can pretty much count on Brian uploading a series of beautiful photos within hours of the event to share with media and those interested in seeing who was there.

So back to the video. It was so nice to have Brian in Denver; unfortunately, I did not consider (once again) that lighting might be an issue. In this video, the information Brian shares is valuable so with the coaxing of the SocialByte crew, I decided to post it.

Brian shares his reason for co-writing the book, tips to get started with social media as well as how the social web relates to corporations and corporate brands. He also covers what is wrong with PR and the opportunity that exists for PR pros and businesses to connect with their community in a more meaningful way using social media.

Apologies, to Brian and our audience for the dark footage. Tryst was kind enough to bring up the lights but it still didn’t do much good.

more about “Brian Solis chats with SocialByte“, posted with vodpod

Feel free to comment within the video if you would like.

Cable disrupted the TV industry like the Internet disrupted traditional media

Think about it, in the 80′s there were three television networks that dominated the airwaves, they didn’t want to invest in cable so they lost out and it hurt them. Fast forward 20 years, traditional media didn’t dive into the Internet rightaway and now they’re taking the hit.

Longtime media analyst, Ken Auletta recently released his new book “Googled: The End of the World As We Know It”. In the book he shares his findings and insights after having spent more than two years with Google and traditional media outlets studying just how much the Internet has changed how news spreads. He did a very interesting interview on C-SPAN this week regarding the book and how late in the game traditional media are in regards to investing in the Internet. My favorite line from the interview:

“… There are two types of people in this world. There are people who lean forward and there are people who lean back. And the people in traditional media were leaning back. And in this new world which is changing so fast, you gotta lean forward.”

Lean forward guys, it’s gonna be a fun ride!