Socially Adept

Spykes Pulled: Kids will have to carry flasks once again!

I saw this coming about two months ago.  Goodbye Spykes... we hardly knew ye!  Sorry kids... it's back to Boone's Farm and MadDog 20/20!  I think my first drink was Zima... my how things have changed.

Jet Blue Pushes out CEO and Blogger David Neeleman

This is interesting news from the number 8 US airline.  Jet Blue CEO has been removed from power and replaced today.  He will now serve as the organizations nonexecutive chairman (Is that a good job?).  Upon hearing the news, I immediately went to check out David Neeleman's "Flight Log" Blog. 

Unfortunately, there is no post up there about the change and I wonder if there ever will be.  Let me make one recommendation to JetBlue... Make sure Neeleman's replacement, David Barger picks up the reigns at the helm of the blog as well.  It would be foolish to lose all of that traffic and your established audience now.  I'm not exactly sure how you pull this off, but it might be nice to have Neeleman transition the responsibility to Barger.  We'll be watching!

Rubel Picks Up on 38Pitches

Steve Rubel posted about Curt Schilling's 38Pitches blog today on Micropersuasion as a result of the recent controversy around his Barry Bonds statements.  I posted on Schilling's blog back in March (read it here) and have been following the local media frenzy ever since.  Boston Radio Station, WEEI and the cast of characters over there (Note: I love WEEI - Completely Addicted) mention 38Pitches at least once a day.

Rubel's post comes at a time when Schilling publicly apologized for his comments about Barry Bonds "potential" steroid use and infidelity.  Schill took some heat about his comments (which were in fact incorrect as Bonds has never admitted to anything as Schilling stated) but it was overblown.  I appreciate Schillings candor and those type of comments are what I hope for and expect.  I enjoy knowing where he stand on matters crucial to the future of baseball.

Some of the WEEI guys trashed Schilling this morning for apologizing for his comments.  They felt that he was entitled to his opinion and should share his views with the 38 pitches audience (All agree that an apology was necessary for the incorrect statements).  With Terry Francona's (Red Sox Manager) reaction telling Schilling to "Shut Up" and "Zip it a bit," I wonder how many C-Level executives are willing to hear that type of feedback from the board or CEO. 

I am sure Steve knows how Schilling feels.

Nikon D80 - A Successful Blogger Outreach Program?

The blogosphere is buzzing right now about the Nikon D80 Bloggers Outreach Campaign conducted by MWW Group.  So far, everyone is very excited about receiving their D80 at no cost for 6 months…and why wouldn’t they be.  If you’re interested in a sample of the coverage Nikon has received as a result of this campaign, look here, here and here.

Once you have had a chance to review each of the three posts, ask yourself if you are now compelled to go out and buy a Nikon D80?  Did the coverage Nikon received focus on the benefits of the camera and why it is superior to other digital camera’s on the market?  Although Jaffe, Lewis and Mack are popular bloggers, does their recommendation convince you to purchase the camera?

If the goal was to receive mentions of the Nikon D80 within the blogosphere, then this campaign is extremely successful.  I, for one, sure know about the Nikon D80 now (it’s hard not to)!  However, I’ve yet to see coverage that’s compelling enough for me to buy the camera.  Would this campaign have been more successful if the Outreach Program was targeted at Photography Bloggers?

An excerpt from the comments on Mack Colliers, The Viral Garden: “One reason why I don't want to blog about the D80 itself is because I've never blogged about cameras before, so if I did so for the D80, that would mean the content I was creating here would have changed, based on my getting to use a D80.”

So, is the coverage this outreach is receiving positive for the camera and Nikon or for the approach that MWW has taken to generate buzz?

(Cross Posted at Digtrends)